Crossed Fates
by watchmexplode33
Summary: Meet Shawn, a boy fascinated with the paranormal. Now meet Krin, a rogue Irken on the run. What will happen when these two's destinies cross? Only time will tell. T for cursing and awkward situations OCxOC
1. Stargazer

_Just heads up, this story is almost 100% OC driven, with show characters appearing later on, well enjoy._

Shawn Ryder walked down the steps of his hi-skool at the end of the day.

'Finally', he thought, 'summer vacation.'

He was looking forward to a summer of hanging out with his friends, wasting his time, and watching UFO's. He took off his lucky leather jacket and stuffed it into his backpack, leaving him wearing his blue tee-shirt, gray jeans, and black vans. He was average as far as weight went, and stood at 5'9, with brown hair, but he was superior to his fellow students in intelligence. But that wasn't a surprise since his father was an award-winning scientist.

"Hey Shawn", Alison Swan called.

Alison was one of Shawn's two friends he hung out with all the time. She was 14, a year younger than Shawn, skinny, 5'7, with pale skin, and a pretty face framed by black hair. She was wearing a violet tee-shirt, black jeans, and blue converse high-tops. She was an aspiring artist but had preferred drawing to talking to other people, with the exception of Shawn and Scott.

"Oh hey Alison", Shawn replied, "You and Scott still coming over today?"

"Well I don't know about Scott, but I'm definitely gonna be there", Alison answered, "Scott probably has summer school."

"Yeah, very funny", came a voice from behind them. Sure enough it was Scott Lochtie, the third member of their group.

Scott was tall and lanky; he stood about 6'2 and had a mess of blonde hair, he was wearing a white hoodie, blue jeans, and dark blue vans. He was 16 but he was still a freshman because he had been held back because he was a party boy and failed most of his classes, he hung out with Shawn and Alison because they accepted him after he dropped his partying nature. He decided to trade drinking for playing the guitar.

"Well are you coming tonight Scott", Shawn asked.

"Of course", Scott replied, "we're still gonna be watching stars right?"

"Yeah, so you can come right?" Shawn asked a second time

"Sure."

"Ok well I guess I'll see ya guys later then." Alison said as the three walked to their homes.

_3 hours later, near Earth space_

Former Irken soldier Krin exhaled a sigh of relief, she was safe. She had fled from the Irken Empire after she had revolted and attempted to destroy the Massive, and the Tallest with it.

Needless to say, the plan had failed and now she was the number one most wanted criminal by the Irken Empire. She glanced at the back of the cockpit at the immobile SIR unit, she had stolen it, it was an outdated model, which still had a mouth allowing it to speak freely, or would have if it had a brain.

Krin sighed, she was in trouble, and she needed a place to hide, maybe build a new life. That was why she was having her ship scan every planet in this solar system for an inhabited planet where she could blend in.

Suddenly, her scanners showed her a hologram of a planet, there was no data on it in the Irken database, but the scanners showed civilization, a perfect place for her to hide.

She read the planets name aloud, "Earth", not what she'd name a planet, but who was she to judge her new home so soon?

She turned her Voot Cruiser towards the planet and accelerated, she was on the way to a fresh start.

_Meanwhile, on Shawn's roof_

"Just look at 'em", Shawn said as the three friends stared into the sky, "just imagine what kind of wonders are out there."

"Careful Shawn", Scott warned jokingly, "you spend too much time hoping to see the rest of the universe and pretty soon some aliens are gonna come by and take you with them."

"Hey I'd accept the invite whole-heartedly", Shawn said optimistically at the thought of traveling with another race.

"I swear", Alison put in, "the way you two get along it's a wonder you're not related."

"Oh no", Scott replied sarcastically, "this guy's way too smart to be related to me."

The three friends laughed and fell silent, listening to the stereo in the background, when Shawn noticed a bright light in the sky, brighter than any of the other stars. The light also seemed to get closer, as if it were falling.

"Hey", Shawn said excitedly, "I think it's a comet."

"Really", Scott replied shakily, "I think it's coming right for us."

Although the comet did seem to come a little close for comfort, it actually crashed in the hills near Shawn's house.

"Come on", Shawn said, getting up and grabbing a flashlight, "let's go check it out."

"You serious", Alison asked, uncertainty in her voice.

"I'm a paranormal investigator", Shawn said confidently, "this is the kinda thing I've been waiting for."

Alison and Scott looked at each other uncertainly, but got up and followed Shawn out to the hills; this should at least be a little interesting.

_Well there's the first chapter, I would like reviews, but I'll keep adding whether you do or not, I set up the Irken character, the Dib-like character, and some character elements not really seen in the show._

_So I hope you liked it and can't wait for the next chapter._


	2. Deal

_So it occurred to me I didn't put a disclaimer, so I'll say this only once_

_*ahem* I do NOT own Invader Zim, the show and its characters are the property of Jhonen Vasquez, I only own the original characters in this story._

Shawn carefully walked up the hill; he had a flashlight in one hand and a fire extinguisher in the other. He glanced backward to make sure that he hadn't lost Alison and Scott. Good, he hadn't.

"Tell me again why you've got the fire extinguisher", Scott asked as he huffed for breath.

"Like I said before", Shawn replied, "the comet will probably be very hot, the fire extinguisher is to help cool it off."

Finding the comet wouldn't be hard, it was throwing up a pretty large smoke trail into the sky, and Shawn wasn't afraid of someone else claiming his find, the people in his town were pretty unobservant, the comet could have landed in their back yards and they wouldn't have noticed. The only problem was that it was getting dark and he wanted to recover it as soon as possible.

"We're getting closer", Alison commented, "The smell of smoke is getting thicker."

As they finally saw the comet, Shawn shined his flashlight at it and nearly passed out at what he had found.

It wasn't a comet at all, it was a ship. A real genuine spaceship, and he'd found it.

He quickly doused it with the fire extinguisher and moved closer to get a better look. What he guessed was the cockpit was partially caved in, but when he placed his hand on it, it moved back into its original shape, Shawn also noticed that the cockpit's shield didn't feel like glass, it felt like plastic.

"A regenerative plastic alloy", Shawn muttered.

"This is insane", Scott said, "This'll make us all famous."

Before anyone could say anything else, the cockpit shield slid open, Shawn went to get a closer look and his wrist was grabbed by a gloved hand with three fingers. But rather than step back, Shawn looked into the cockpit and saw a green alien, probably just a few inches shorter than him, with what appeared to be a red shirt with black stripes, black pants, and black boots.

The alien's eyes were half open, but Shawn could see the violet-blue, pupil less, eyes. The alien had two antennae on the back of its head which went halfway down it's back, though the alien seemed to battle for consciousness, it appeared relatively unharmed.

'This Alien isn't a threat', Shawn thought as he helped the alien to its feet.

"Are you ok", Shawn asked , speaking slowly.

"Yeah", the alien replied unsteadily, "why are you talking so slow?"

Shawn noted the tone of the alien's voice and guessed that she was female. "How can you speak English?"

"English", the alien asked, obviously confused, "You mean Universal Basic?"

"Sure, Basic", Shawn replied, "What's your name?"

The alien was silent, as though remembering her own name was significantly hard.

"Krin", the alien finally said, "can you tell me where I am?"

"You're on planet Earth", Shawn replied.

Earth? Suddenly it hit Krin like a fist in the face, her stealing the SIR unit, her attempted attack on the Massive, her narrow escape from the armada, her discovery of Earth, and most recently, her crash. The color left Krin's face and she fell to her knees.

Shawn's protective instincts took over, he crouched down so he was eye level with Krin, and looked her in the eyes. "What happened", he asked, "and how can I help?"

"Shawn", Alison said cautiously from behind him, but Shawn ignored her, he could tell when someone just needed help.

Krin didn't know where to begin, so she decided to start with the announcement of operation: impending doom 2, the sending out of the invaders, and then when she started to make plans of her own.

_Flashback:_

_Krin sat in her dormitory on Devastis, she was doing what she normally did when she had a break in her military training, plotting the end of operation: impending doom 2._

_She must be a defective, no normal Irken would think of revolting against the Tallest, no less plotting their deaths, but if being defective meant seeing the truth, then she was fine with it. _

_It was almost time to put her plan into action; she was as ready as she could be. She had her voot cruiser, which could get away from the armada as soon as her task was done, she had an experimental disguise generator she had stolen from the science lab, and she had a SIR unit, though she would probably repurpose that, since it had no brain._

_She took a deep breath, and stepped out of her dorm and towards the hangar, where her ship was waiting. 'At last' she thought, 'the time has come for the Tallest to get what's coming to them.'_

_Advance two days_

"_Give up", Krin heard over her ships radio, the voice belonged to the almighty Tallest Red, "and we can promise you a quick death", there was laughter in the background, and Krin knew that they were just trying to make catching her easier, but she wouldn't give up that easily._

_She activated the ship's light drive, and burst into light speed. She knew her initial plan had failed, and there wasn't any going back now, but the armada wouldn't be able to track her if she made a blind jump. So she proceeded with the next part of her plan._

_Escape, get as far from Irk, the armada, and the rest of operation: impending doom 2 as possible, and that's what exactly she was doing._

_Advance one day_

"_Damn it", Krin swore as the ship's first engine failed, she must have been hit harder than she thought._

_She fought for control as the ship hurtled down toward the planet. But as the second engine failed she knew there was nothing she could do but brace herself and wait for the crash to be over._

_End Flashback_

Shawn was silent, he'd never heard anything like that besides in movies, but it was actually happening, an alien race bent on universal conquest.

"How do you think you can help me", Krin asked sarcastically, "I'm the most wanted criminal in the Irken empire."

"Well you said that our solar system is beyond the reach of your Empire", Shawn replied, "That means you've already got safety, but I don't think we're anywhere near ready to launch any form of attack on the Irken's, give me some time to think about that one, I guess you could stay with me, I've got an extra room and my dad's never home."

Krin was silent, she thought over what this boy said, then she stared into his ice blue eyes, they held no menace, only kindness, something told her she could trust him.

"Deal", she said, "I'll stay with you."

"Alright, I'm Shawn, that's Scott, and that's Alison."

Scott waved, but Alison was silent, so Shawn helped Krin get some of her supplies out of her ship.

As they finished unpacking some of Krin's supplies from her ship, the four returned to Shawn's house.

"Ok", Shawn said as they walked into the house, "Scott, Alison, you guys help Krin get her stuff settled, I have to contact the Swollen Eyeball network, they probably have a solution."

Shawn went into his room and turned on his laptop. He accessed the Swollen Eyeball network and logged in with his agency name, 'Agent Basilisk', and opened a chat with Agent Darkbooty, the head of the network.

"Agent Basilisk", Darkbooty asked, "How may I be of assistance?"

"I have a question agent Darkbooty", Shawn responded, "I have given shelter to an alien refugee, she says that the rest of her race is bent on universal conquest, do you know what I should do?"

Agent Darkbooty was silent for a moment, "Did this alien give the name of her race", he asked.

"Yes", Shawn responded, "she said she is Irken."

"As I thought, give me a moment I'm going to patch you through to one our Agents who is an expert in this particular field."

Shawn was going to ask who, but Darkbooty's silhouette changed to that of a boy with a big head, and scythe-like hair.

"Who are you", Shawn asked, he'd never contacted this agent before.

"Agent Mothman, at your service."

_Well how'd you like it? I went for a cliffhanger ending with a little Easter egg for you guys._

_Well remember to review and I'll get you a new chapter._


	3. Trust Issues

"So you're saying you have an Irken soldier captive", Agent Mothman asked, "That's incredible."

Shawn placed his hand on his forehead in a facepalming motion, something he was well known for doing.

"For the last time Mothman", Shawn started, trying to hold back his anger, "I'm not holding her captive, she revolted against the Irken Empire, fled Irken controlled space, crashed nearby, and I'm just giving her a place to stay, she doesn't have hostile intentions."

"That's ridiculous", Mothman snorted unbelievingly, "I've never seen an Irken with good intentions, and I'm an expert."

While the argument between Shawn and Mothman was going on, Scott and Alison had finished helping Krin get her things settled and were about to leave.

"Thanks for the help", Krin said as the two made their way for the door, "I really appreciate it, especially since we just met."

"No problem", Scott called back, "If you need any more help feel free to give us a call."

Krin made a mental note about how Alison didn't say anything, but shrugged it off and went to her new room.

They had brought most of her lightweight supplies from her ship and set them up in her room, they included her Voot's computer, which she had disengaged from the ship, a small table, which she had taken from her Devastis dormitory, and the stolen SIR unit, still lying lifeless on the ground.

Krin double checked her PAK, she wanted to make sure it was secure after her brief moment of amnesia after her crash, which was caused by her PAK becoming slightly dislodged and then readjusting itself. After she was satisfied that her PAK was secure she decided to go talk to Shawn, she felt she should get to know him if she was going to stay here.

She made her way upstairs and paused outside of his room, the door was slightly open and she could here Shawn talking inside, probably to a member of that Swollen Eyeball Network he mentioned.

"Look", came a voice from Shawn's room that Krin didn't recognize, "You can't trust an Irken, you need to contact your local authorities, and turn her in, you'll have secured Earth's safety and be famous."

Krin was surprised that someone would even suggest turning her in, she didn't have any intentions for harm. She considered bursting into Shawn's room in a frenzy, but the thought was pushed out of her mind when she heard Shawn start talking.

"Listen Mothman", he yelled, "I don't know what kind of Irkens you've dealt with, but Krin is different. She's nice, you can tell by talking to her that she means well, and when you look into her eyes, it's just something hard to explain. The point is that I'm not under any circumstances turning her in, and that's the last I'll say on the matter, goodbye."

Shawn slammed his laptop shut before Mothman even had time to think of a response and placed his head in his hands. When he looked up he noticed Krin standing in his doorway.

"Oh, hey", Shawn started awkwardly; "Did you hear any of that?"

"I caught the part where that Mothman told you to turn me into the Earth authorities", Krin replied, "And the part where you gave him a pretty severe tongue lashing."

"Well, uh, don't worry; you have my word that I won't turn you in."

"Yeah, I know", Krin replied, slowly walking toward Shawn, "What did you mean when you were talking about my eyes?"

"Oh that", Shawn paused, "When we first talked, and when I looked into your eyes, I just felt something, maybe it was trust, I don't trust easily, I've been stabbed in the back to many times, but when I looked into your eyes I just felt like I could trust you, I know, it sounds kinda angsty and crap."

"I actually think that's sweet", Krin said, placing a hand on Shawn's shoulder, "I wasn't gonna say anything, but I felt the same thing when we first talked to."

Shawn was going to say something else when he heard his front door open.

"Shawn, I'm home."

It was Shawn's dad, Professor Ryder. He shouldn't be home; he was working on an important experiment at his lab. Shawn looked at Krin with sudden panic, but Krin maintained a calm expression, she tapped a device on her wrist, and she shimmered and her appearance changed to a human girl, with light brown hair and light tan skin. She was now wearing a gray tee short, torn blue jeans, and yellow vans.

"In my room dad", Shawn called, calmness returning to his voice.

"Hey Shawn, how was your last day", Professor Ryder asked as he walked into Shawn's room.

"It was fine, but what are you doing home", Shawn asked, "I thought you were working on some important project."

"I was, but I needed to pick up some parts and thought I'd stop by and check up on my boy, now who's your friend."

Shawn had to give his dad credit, he never missed a thing.

"She's Krin, she just moved here a couple weeks ago", Shawn stated nonchalantly.

"Well nice to meet you, Krin", Shawn's dad said as he extended his hand.

Krin shook it and gave Shawn's dad a small smile, then went and sat on Shawn's bed.

"So dad", Shawn began, "Krin's parents are out of town, is it ok if she stays with us for a little while?"

"I don't see why not", Professor Ryder answered, then he leaned closer and whispered into Shawn's ear, "But be careful son, teenage pregnancy is no joke."

Then Shawn's dad turned and left. There were noises downstairs as he went to his lab and got the parts he needed, then he walked to the door, shouted goodbye and left, the sound of his car was heard a few seconds later.

"What did your dad say", Krin asked as she deactivated her disguise.

"Oh nothing", Shawn responded, trying to forget the 'advice' his dad had given him; "You think I could get a look at that robot of yours?"

"Sure", Krin answered as the two walked downstairs, "But it doesn't have a brain."

As they walked into Krin's room, Shawn picked up the robot, made a few mental notes about the construction, then put it down and started to leave the room.

"Where are you going", Krin asked as she started to leave with Shawn.

"My dad's lab", Shawn explained as they made their way to the basement, "He was working with some portable AI's he was hoping could run entire cities, but he discarded them because they didn't have enough power for that kind of task, but I might be able to use one as a brain for your robot."

"SIR", Krin corrected him, "It's called a SIR."

When they got down to Professor Ryder's lab Shawn began searching the tables and baskets, until he raised his hand triumphantly with a small disk encased in his hand.

"Now let's get that baby running."

As they made their way back into Krin's room Krin opened the top of the SIR unit head and pointed at a hollow slot inside of the head.

"This is where the brain should go", she explained.

Shawn placed the AI chip into the slot, it seemed to fit rather well, and the chip glowed as it began working with the processors of the SIR unit. Suddenly the SIR unit shot up, its eyes, shoulders, and the center of its torso red, it saluted Shawn, then Krin with a serious look on its face. Then the serious look disappeared, and the illuminated areas glowed gray.

"Hiya", the robot said, "I'm Taz."

"Taz, how'd you get a name for yourself", Krin asked, but the SIR just shrugged.

"It's the AI chip", Shawn stated, "It gave Taz an identity."

"Boring", Taz whined, "I wanna go do something fun."

"I can already tell this is going to be a headache", Krin said.

"Hey, your robot, your problem", Shawn replied as he turned and started walking upstairs.

"Wait, I wanna go see the upstairs place", Taz shouted as he leaped onto Shawn's back.

"Dear Lord", Shawn grumbled as he walked upstairs with Taz on his shoulders, "I never thought I would actually have a child at fifteen."

"Goodnight, I'll take care of him tomorrow", Krin shouted jokingly as she walked off to her own room.

_Well that's it for the new chapter, I thought it would be a good time to introduce Shawn's dad and the SIR unit, which is going to be somewhat like GIR, but more like a child than just plain crazy, even though there's not much difference._

_So I'm going to ask the readers why YOU think Alison doesn't like Krin, just review with whatever you think the reason might be ok goodnight._


	4. Everybody's favorite Nobody

**I fixed this chapter because I didn't like how it originally turned out; hope you like it better this time**

Shawn's eyes opened slowly; he looked over at his clock, 7:38. He attempted to sit up, but was stopped by Taz. The little robot was curled up in a ball on his stomach fast asleep. Shawn carefully scooped him up and placed him on the floor, then went to take a shower.

After his shower, Shawn got dressed and looked out the window. It was raining. Normally rain during summer would be weird, but after so much pollution had been loosed into the atmosphere, these kinds of weather changes weren't abnormal. Shawn always liked rainy days so he decided to go for a walk.

As he was making his way downstairs, he was stopped by a hyper, metallic voice.

"Watcha doin", Taz asked.

"Just going for a walk", Shawn responded, he was still surprised that Taz could run so well with a human AI installed.

"Can I go", Taz pleaded, "Can I can I can I?"

"Sure, just wait a second."

Shawn put some toast in the toaster, and poured himself some milk; after he finished the milk he scribbled something on a piece of paper. After that he grabbed the two pieces of toast and he and Taz walked to the door.

"Can I have some toast", Taz asked as they walked onto the porch.

"Robots can't eat", Shawn replied skeptically.

"Yes I can", Taz said as he grabbed a piece of toast and took a bite out of it, chewing and swallowing it like a person would.

Shawn pulled up his hood and the two started to walk down the street. Shawn would've tried to find a disguise for Taz if he was relatively concerned that anyone would notice, and even if they did he could just tell them he was something his dad built.

The two made their way to a park, one Shawn spent lots of time at as a kid, and he normally came there to think, but figured he could talk with Taz or something.

"Can I go on the swing", Taz said, pointing to a swing.

"Sure, I guess", Shawn replied, he helped Taz onto the swing and was about to start pushing him when he heard an annoying post-pubescent voice.

"Hey Shawn".

_Bloom Transition_

Krin was brought back online by her PAK, as her eyes opened she looked out the window of her room. Some liquid was falling from the sky. Curious, she opened the window and stuck out her hand. Several drops landed on her opened hand and burned her skin intensely. Krin screeched in pain and slammed the window shut, shaking her hand to get the stuff off.

"Shawn", she called out, "You there?"

No response.

Krin walked out into another room, and saw a piece of paper with writing on it sitting on the table. She couldn't recognize the writing, but her PAK quickly hacked into the human information database, deciphered their written language, and taught it to her in a split second. As she looked over the note again it made a lot more sense.

_Krin,_

_Went for a walk with Taz. Be back in a little while. Make yourself comfortable. Go ahead and make yourself breakfast. Don't answer the door._

_-Shawn_

Krin placed the paper back on the table and walked over to the refrigerator. Her PAK taught her a bunch of things about human culture while it was hacking their info database and it told her this was where they stored food. Her eyes scanned the food, some of it she didn't recognize, but she spotted a box of donuts and pulled it out.

She began munching as she walked over to the T.V. It was on the news, some story about a homicidal maniac. She changed the channel, looking for something interesting to watch.

_Bloom another transition_

"Isaac Henderson", Shawn spat, "What do you want?"

"Can't to friends talk in peace", Isaac asked with fake sincerity.

"We're not friends' fuck-face", Shawn said with venom in his voice, he had no patience for Isaac, the kid was always a jerk, ever since they were kids.

Isaac faltered; the look in Shawn's eyes was one that could stop a lion in its tracks, and Isaac was about to turn and leave when he spotted Taz on the swing.

"What's that", Isaac asked.

Shawn cursed inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged, "Just another experiment of my dad's, I'm taking it on a field test."

"Let me see it", Isaac commanded.

"Never", Shawn hissed back, his poisonous stare growing in intensity, "Why don't you go try and fuck with someone else."

"Watch your mouth Shawn", Isaac warned, "Wouldn't want someone to hear you using such filthy language."

"I only use it because of you", Shawn said, "Now Taz and I have got to be going."

Shawn picked up Taz and started walking back to his house, Isaac was following close behind. Shawn quickened his pace until he was running full speed, Isaac just quickened as well. When Shawn finally saw his house he put on an extra burst of speed until he was at his front door.

He quickly opened it and stepped inside. He looked out the door, Isaac had just stepped onto the front porch and had full intentions to enter and take Taz for whatever reason.

"Nice try, dumbass", Shawn whispered as he slammed his door shut.

There was a satisfying _SLAM_ as Isaac ran into the door, then shouted some curse before walking off.

Shawn turned around, a smug grin on his face, when he noticed that Taz had gone over to the couch. When he walked over he saw Krin also sitting on the couch watching T.V.

"Whatcha watching", Shawn asked as he sat next to Krin.

"Some movie called 'The Outsiders'", Krin responded.

"Sweet, I love that movie", Shawn said.

The room settled into silence as the three watched the movie. Krin enjoyed the movie, especially the story about a group of boy's loyalty to each other, no matter what hardships they faced.

"That Ponyboy kid reminds me a lot of you", Krin said, looking over at Shawn, "You're both kind, and really care about your friends."

Shawn blushed; it was nice for someone to compliment him on something other than his brains, especially Krin.

"Well…I…always try to be nice", Shawn stammered, then regained his composure, "But you're kind to, ever since you started staying here you've really nice, people other than Scott and Alison aren't normally nice to me."

"You can't be serious", Krin inquired, "How could they not be nice to you?"

"Well they're nice to me when I offer to help them, but the second I'm done they completely forget I exist, it's like I'm everybody's favorite nobody."

He cast his eyes downward at the last statement; he was a little embarrassed; he had never told anyone that, not even Scott or Alison.

Krin placed one of her fingers under his chin and moved his head up until she was looking into his eyes, "Don't worry", she said softly, "You'll always be someone to me."

Their faces started slowly moving closer, but Shawn pulled away.

"I-I'm sorry", he stuttered, "I've got to go check something."

He hurried off to his room, leaving Krin shocked. What did she do wrong?

Shawn walked into his room and lied face down on his bed. 'Nice move', he thought to himself, 'what was I thinking?' he didn't have time to answer because his laptop rang out that he had a message. He opened up his laptop; the message was from the Swollen Eyeballs.

"_Agent Basilisk"_, the message said, it was Agent Mothman, _"Your Irken friend is in danger, there is an Irken that lives in my town, and he has located her via her PAK signal and has informed the Irken Armada of her presence. You MUST contact me immediately."_

**Well I hope this version of the chapter works better for you guys, remember to review if you like it, and 10 points if you can find the Nny reference, and 10 more points if you can find the assassins creed brotherhood literal trailer reference (you should watch it on YouTube, it's pretty funny)**


	5. Locals Only

**Ok, so I figured two chapters with no reviews isn't a good sign, although I did receive a little feedback that I'm on the right track, more would be nice though**

Agent Mothman's words were buzzing in Shawn's head as he ran downstairs. When he reached the T.V. room Krin looked at him with an expression that held both confusion and slight anger, not a good combination. Still, Shawn needed her to come with him.

"What was that about", Krin asked. But Shawn didn't answer; instead she grabbed her by the wrist and started leading her upstairs.

"Hey, wait for me", Taz shouted, getting up from the couch.

"No Taz, you stay here", Shawn said sternly.

Krin asked repeatedly why Shawn was taking her upstairs, but Shawn wouldn't answer. When they finally got to Shawn's room Shawn sat in his computer chair, and Krin sat down on his bed. Shawn turned on his computer and logged into the Swollen Eyeball Network.

"Please be online", Shawn prayed. Luckily Agent Mothman was online, and Shawn started a chat with him.

"_Agent Basilisk, thank God"_, Agent Mothman started, _"Did you get my message?"_

"Yes", Shawn replied, "Do you have any idea when this all will happen?"

"_I'm not sure"_ Mothman replied, _"He never specified to his leaders."_

"Hold up, hold up", Krin interrupted, "What's going on here."

"_You haven't told her"_, Mothman asked.

"I was getting to it", Shawn replied meekly, then turned to Krin, "Mothman says there is an Irken on Earth and that he's found out about you being here and alerted the Irken armada."

"WHAT", Krin shouted furiously, "ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"_Unfortunately"_, Mothman replied, seemingly unfazed by her anger.

"How do you know all this", Krin asked.

"_I placed a spy bug in his base"_, Mothman replied, _"Take a look."_

The screen changed to a lab filled with strange alien equipment. Sitting in the center of the room was a small Irken, shorter than Krin, looking at a screen, which displayed two tall looking Irkens.

"_My Tallest, I wish to once again address the rogue Irken soldier that has fled to Earth"_, the little Irken said to the two Irkens onscreen.

"Tallest?" Shawn said, "The Irken leaders are just taller than everyone else?"

Krin just shushed him and they both kept looking at the screen

"_Listen, Zim"_, one of the Tallest, dressed in red with red eyes, said, _"One rogue defect isn't something to be concerned over. You've said yourself that the Earthlings are just plain stupid; just forget you picked up that PAK signal already."_

Before the little Irken could respond the Tallest disappeared off the screen. The video changed from the lab to Mothman.

"_Well I didn't expect that"_, Mothman said, _"It looks like you're safe after all."_

Krin exhaled a sigh of relief, she was glad that she was safe. Of all the possible outcomes she didn't expect the Tallest to basically say to leave her alone. It was reassuring to know they cared so little that they basically assured her safety. There was one thing they said that bugged her though.

"What do they mean I'm not a threat", Krin asked, "I could be a threat to the Empire."

"But that doesn't really matter, does it", Shawn asked.

"I could bring them down", Krin kept ranting, ignoring Shawn, "I was close the first time, and it was pure bad luck that I failed."

Shawn facepalmed and turned back to the screen, "Well thanks for the help Mothman, I'm gonna try to calm her down."

"_Good luck"_, Mothman said, _"You're gonna need it."_

Shawn let Krin have her rant until ten minutes had gone. By this point steam was rising from Shawn's head and his eyes were exceptionally wide and bloodshot.

"THAT'S IT" he shouted, and wrapped his hands around Krin's mouth, silencing her.

Krin tried to free herself from his hands, but to no avail. Eventually she started thrashing around, causing the two to fall over. It eventually turned into a sort of game, and the two were laughing as they attempted to pin the other to the ground. While they were laughing, they didn't hear the doorbell ring, or Taz get up to let none other than Scott Lochtie into the house. Scott was at first startled by Taz, but remembered that Krin had a robot with her and guessed Shawn helped her activate it.

Scott heard something going on upstairs and decided to check it out. He stopped outside Shawn's room. The door was shut, so he couldn't see what was going on, but he could hear the giggling and struggling that was going on inside.

'Let's see', he thought, 'If I let this continue I'll probably go to hell, but if I interrupt there's a good chance Shan will kill me.'

"Ah screw it", he said and kicked open Shawn's door, "Stop in the name of all thing's innocent."

Shawn and Krin paused, but only Shawn realized the awkward situation he and Krin were in. Krin, being of a race that isn't really taught about basic reproduction, didn't understand why Shawn was forcing himself up.

"What's going on", Krin asked, "You were winning and just quit."

"Oh yeah", Scott put in, jabbing Shawn with his elbow; "It sure looked like old Shawny boy was winning alright."

"Shut your hole Scott", Shawn replied, slapping at Scott's arm, "Is there a particular reason you're here right now."

"As a matter of fact there is", Scott replied proudly, "Locals Only just re-opened and I wanted to see if you wanted to get your old skateboard out of the garage."

Shawn smiled wider than when they found Krin's ship. Locals Only was a skate park he and Scott used to go to all the time the summer before freshman year. Shawn was checking the school out, Scott had summer school the same day, they met, they talked, and before they knew it they had grabbed their boards and were already on their way. Another great thing was that the music they played was all late 90's to early 2000's rock, stuff ranging from blink-182 to Less Than Jake, some of their favorite bands. At the end of summer the place closed up, but the owner promised he would re-open the place when the next summer started.

"What are we still doing here", Shawn asked, "Let's get going."

"Can I come", Krin asked, activating her disguise.

"How do you even know what skateboarding is", Shawn asked.

"I hacked into your information database", Krin explained, "I learned lots of stuff about human culture and society."

"Well if you can keep up", Scott said, "But you to keep it appropriate."

The three went downstairs, and Shawn went out to the garage, soon returning with two skateboards. The only problem was what to do about Taz; they couldn't leave him alone, could they? Then again he seemed quite content sitting on the couch watching T.V., so Shawn decided that he would just lock the door behind him.

"Ok Taz", Shawn said, "Remember don't burn down the house, and if you do be somewhere else when we get home." Then he shut the door.

The trip to Locals Only was a few blocks, and it was slow going since Krin didn't know how to skateboard, so Shawn and Scott decided to turn the trip there into a crash course. After a few trips, falls, and epic fails, Krin was able to ride the rest of the way there.

"Well you're no Tony Hawk", Scott commented as the parks metal sign with black and blue letters came into view, "But you'll survive."

As the three approached the gate, they were stopped by a wiry 19-year old girl.

"Hey Catherine", Scott said, "You look good."

Catherine Burwell was Mike Burwell, the owner of the park's, daughter. She worked at the front of the park, letting people in.

"Hey Scott, hey Shawn", Catherine said, "I knew you two would be here as soon as we opened."

"Wouldn't miss it", Shawn said smiling, "What music are you playing tonight?"

"Well dad's got Sum 41 playing right now", Catherine replied, "By the way, who's your friend."

"Oh that's Krin", Scott put in, "She just moved here."

"Oh, well go on in", Catherine said, opening the gate, "You know where everything is."

As they walked in Scott and Shawn showed Krin around. The general area of the park was a large semi-circle, with a bowl in the center, two half pipes on both sides, and several rails scattered around. Scot skated over to the half pipe, while Shawn went towards a rail. Shawn was never that good at vertical skating, but he always liked street skating. He grinded along a rail and attempted to land and change immediately into a manual, but instead of land as he planned his board flew out from under him and his face met the ground. When he looked up he saw Krin standing over him looking concerned.

"Are you ok", she asked.

"Yeah", Shawn replied, getting up, "Falling's part of the process, you just need to get up. How about you give it a shot?"

Krin shrugged, trying to look calm, but Shawn could see the nervousness on her face. He decided to have pity on her and help her get started.

"Ok", Shawn began, "You already know how to move, stop, and jump, so let's move to grinding."

Shawn got back onto his board and rode back to where he had started.

"Grinding's all about balance and coordination", he explained, "Once you have enough speed you just jump, face your board sideways, and balance along the rail."

Shawn showed Krin how to grind, and landed fine, stopping right next to her.

"Go on, give it a shot."

Krin slowly rode over to where Shawn started, and began to move towards the rail, gathering speed. When she got nearer to the rail, her instincts told her to jump, so she did. She was surprised when she found herself moving along the rail, but when she saw the end getting closer she panicked. She fell from her board and was about to hit the ground when she felt herself stop. When she opened her eyes she was in Shawn's arms.

"Oh, thanks", Krin said, "But I thought falling was part of the process."

"Well if you want I could just drop you", Shawn replied grinning.

"No that's ok", Krin replied, standing up.

She was going to give it another try when she heard something, a familiar kind of _whoosh_ sound. It sounded like a Voot cruiser decelerating, but that couldn't be right, her ship was still unable to fly. The Tallest told that little Irken to forget about her, he wouldn't come, would he?

Her question was answered when she saw a Voot cruiser come into view. The cockpit shield opened up and revealed the same Irken she had seen on Shawn's computer.

"YOU", the Irken, whose name she remembered was Zim, shouted, pointing at her accusingly, "The Tallest gave me specific orders to capture you and bring you before them."

Suddenly a SIR unit appeared right next to Zim, "No they didn't", the robot shouted.

"Silence GIR", Zim shouted at the robot, then turned back to Krin, "Now, for your DOOM!"

He pressed a button on the control panel and a purple beam shot at Krin. The beam encircled Krin, and started to bring her back up to the ship. Before she got too far off the ground though, Shawn jumped out and grabbed Krin's hand, trying to pull her away from the beam.

"Pitiful human worm-child", Zim shouted at Shawn, "Your meager physical strength is no match for my tractor beam."

Shawn still didn't let go. Zim merely shrugged and brought them both up until they were hanging under the ship by the tractor beam.

"If you wish to share the fate as this worthless defective", Zim shouted at Shawn, "Then so be it, I was getting tired of testing on Nick anyway."

With that, the Voot cruiser zoomed off into the night, leaving the onlookers at the skate park shocked and confused.

**Whoop, Zim has finally made an appearance, I won't divulge any details other than both he and Dib are going to play important roles in the story from here on. You'll have to keep reading to learn the rest.**


	6. In the Spider's Web

**I had lots of good for this chapter, so I'm putting off studying for finals to work on it. Enjoy**

Shawn saw the scenery pass him as the Zim pulled him and Krin along under his ship. He didn't feel the wind whip through his hair or along his face due to the tractor beam. He glanced over at Krin, who had deactivated her disguise, he didn't blame her for their current situation, and she didn't know Zim would openly defy his leaders. Also blame wouldn't do them any good; they had to think of a possible way out of their situation.

Shawn wasn't sure how far away Zim's base was, but it seemed like they had traveled across a few states due to distance and change in landscape. They eventually slowed down as the ship entered a city's suburbs. Zim stopped above a small house that seemed to be sandwiched between the two larger houses on either side. The houses roof opened up, revealing a hanger, and Zim's ship descended, stopping just before Shawn and Krin's feet hit the ground. Zim leaped out of the ship and faced Shawn and Krin triumphantly.

"Now, traitor", Zim said to Krin, "I'm going to tell the Tallest that I captured you, maybe they'll give me a metal, but first I'm going to do some experiments on your little pig-friend here. GIR, secure the child."

The same SIR unit they had seen earlier leaped out and stared at Shawn.

"Hi there", he yelled before pulling a rubber piggy out of his head and squeaking it in Shawn's face.

"No GIR", Zim shouted, "I said SECURE the child, as in tie him up."

"Oh yeah", the SIR, whose name was apparently GIR, replied, pulling rope out of his head and tying Shawn up.

Zim laughed like a maniac and pulled Shawn out of the tractor beam, leading him into an elevator. As the elevator door opened Shawn saw the same lab he had seen when he was talking to Agent Mothman. Zim led him to a row of tubes, and shoved him towards one of them. In the next tube over was a small boy, no older than 8, with an unnaturally large smile on his face, his shirt read 'Nick'.

"How long has he been in there", Shawn asked, staring at Nick in horror.

"A few months", Zim replied nonchalantly as he typed something into a computer, "I used him for experiments on human happiness centers; maybe I'll use you for human sorrow centers."

"No way", Shawn replied defiantly, facing Zim, "I am not gonna let you use me for some freakish experiments."

"You dare to defy Zim", Zim shouted at Shawn, "Besides, you have little choice, it's not like you can escape."

Before Shawn could respond the tube behind him opened and tentacles extended from the roof, tore off the ropes, and thrust him into the tube, which shut immediately. The tube began filling up with some strange purple liquid. Shawn sucked in a breath as the liquid surrounded him completely, but he eventually had to exhale. Strangely, he was able to breathe just fine. It also didn't feel like he was wet, it was like the liquid encased him, but didn't touch him.

"Now", Zim said as he pressed a button on a computer in front of a large screen, "To call the Tallest."

Shawn looked around the tube, hoping to find some way out while Zim set up the transmission. Finding none he kicked the tube in fury. There was a cracking sound, and Shawn noticed the tube was cracking where he had kicked it. The tube finally burst open, sending the liquid, and Shawn, spilling out onto the floor. Zim looked backwards in horror as the liquid slammed him into the console.

Shawn thought quickly and began to run towards the elevator, but stopped at a pile of devices with a sign in front of them that read _human junk to be studied, eventually_. Shawn grabbed a laptop from the pile and ran into the elevator, which shut behind him and carried him upward.

_Meanwhile_

Krin hung in the tractor beam under Zim's Voot. She remembered Zim vividly, he was the soldier responsible for the failure of Operation Impending Doom: 1, and the Tallest banished him during the Great Assigning, but she didn't think she'd wind up on the same planet as him. Her thoughts were interrupted by a deep voice that echoed throughout the house

"Alert! Prisoner escape in science lab."

'Good', Krin thought, 'Shawn's escaped.' She extended her PAK legs and aimed them upwards and fired, Blowing a hole through Zim's Voot and deactivating the tractor beam. Krin had to move quickly, the computer would notice that explosion soon, and she wanted to be far away from the hangar, and Zim's base, when it happened.

_Meanwhile_

The elevator doors opened and Shawn stepped out into what appeared to be a house. He looked around and noticed the signs that read _I eat food_ and _I'm normal_. 'Good job at blending in', Shawn thought sarcastically, then heard a noise behind him. He quickly hid behind a table and saw GIR walk in carrying a suck monkey, sucking it contently. He put the suck monkey on the counter and opened the fridge, muttering something about pickles. Shawn was reminded vaguely of Taz, and quickly grabbed the suck monkey and hid it behind his back.

"Hello", Shawn said.

Gir whirled around, and when he saw Shawn his eyes and torso glowed red, "Halt, you are intruding."

"I got something for you", Shawn said, pulling the suck monkey out from behind him.

GIR glowed his regular teal and happily accepted the suck monkey, forgetting completely that it was his.

"Now, can you tell me where my friend is", Shawn asked.

GIR stopped sucking and thought for a moment, then shrugged and kept sucking. Just as Shawn was about to ask something else, the elevator opened again, and Krin stepped out.

"Oh good", Shawn said, tucking the laptop under his arm, "Let's go."

The two turned and walked to the front door. Shawn opened the door and the two were about to step out when they heard the elevator door open, followed by Zim's voice.

"Not so fast", he shouted at them, "I won't let you escape that easily. GIR, attack!"

Krin quickly extended some sort of communication device from her PAK and spoke into it.

"Taz, come to me, immediately."

"_Alrighty", _the voice on the other end said.

There were a few seconds of silence, then there was a loud crashing sound, followed by a soft _oof_, then Taz stepped into the house.

"Hi there", he shouted.

"Let's see your SIR take us captive now, Zim", Shawn shouted smugly.

"GIR, seize them."

GIR saluted Zim, then turned and ran towards the three.

"Taz", Krin shouted, "Defend us."

Taz saluted and ran towards GIR. The two met in the middle and ran into each other. They sat on the floor staring at each other before GIR pulled his rubber piggy out of his head, squeaked it, then offered it to Taz. Taz took it and started squeezing it while GIR took another out of his head and started squeaking that one.

The scene went on for a full three minutes before Shawn grabbed Taz's arm, gave the rubber piggy back to GIR, then walked out of the house with Krin. Taz waved goodbye to GIR as he was dragged away, and GIR waved back, and then closed the door.

"Well where do we go now", Krin asked as the three stopped on the sidewalk.

"I know one person that could probably help us get home", Shawn said, turning on the laptop, "And if he knows his stuff he could maybe turn off that PAK signal that lets Zim know where you are."

"Who?"

"Who else? Agent Mothman."

**Woo hoo, the excitement continues. Remember to review what you thought of the chapter, and if you didn't like it I'm sorry, but I do appreciate being notified about any mistakes.**


	7. Agent Mothman

**Hello everyone. Sorry if I had you waiting for this update, but things have been kinda hectic, thanks to all my reviewers and your encouraging words.**

**Well, you've waited long enough already, so here's the next chapter.**

Shawn, Krin, and Taz walked to a nearby park and, after shooing away two kids playing in the sandbox, sat down on a bench. Krin scooted close to Shawn while he opened the laptop which, fortunately, didn't need a password, but only had twenty-two percent power left. He quickly accessed the Swollen Eyeball Network and opened a chat with the first online member he saw, Agent Nessie.

"_Agent Nessie here, what do you need Basilisk?"_

"Just a quick favor", Shawn replied, "Could you give me the coordinates to Agent Mothman's house?"

"_Sure thing"_, Agent Nessie said, _"Sending them right now."_

A moment later coordinates appeared in a tab on the laptop. Shawn opened a map and entered the coordinates. The house was only a few blocks away, a short walk for the three. Shawn stood up, followed by Krin and Taz, and they proceeded to Mothman's house. When they arrived at the house Shawn was about to knock on the door, but he saw that it was slightly open. Whoever had come home last was obviously too preoccupied with something else to close the door completely. When Shawn walked in he noticed a girl sitting on the couch both watching T.V. and playing a Game Slave 2.

Shawn was going to say hello but the girl quickly turned and glared at him.

"Get out", she barked, and then quickly picked a bowl of popcorn up off the table and threw it at Shawn.

Shawn quickly ducked and the popcorn sailed over his head, into the waiting arms of Taz.

"I'm here looking for someone", Shawn explained, shrugging off the fact that he just had something thrown at him.

The girl didn't say anything but shot a death glare at Shawn that could've given someone a heart attack, but Shawn shot a similar death glare back. Eventually Shawn felt like his head was about to explode and he had to look down.

"Not bad", the girl chuckled, "Normally people run screaming when I give them that kind of look. What do you want?"

"I'm looking for Agent Mothman", Shawn explained.

"Oh", the girl groaned, as if she wished he hadn't asked that, "Upstairs, third door on the right."

"Thanks", Shawn said as he, Krin, and Taz walked upstairs.

By the time they reached the door specified they paused. Shawn knocked and the door, and then they walked in. there was a boy no older than 11 sitting at a desk working intensely, he didn't even notice the three walk in. Shawn walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"NO ZIM YOU WON'T TURN ME INTO BOLGNA AGAIN!" the boy shouted at the top of his lungs as he turned around.

"What", Shawn asked, confused by the sudden outburst, "Agent Mothman it's me, Agent Basilisk."

"Oh", Mothman replied as he tried to catch his breath, "You surprised me there. What are you doing here?"

"Krin and I were abducted", Shawn explained, "By Zim. We wanted a favor, actually two favors."

"What", Mothman asked.

"First", Krin cut in, tired of sitting in the background, "I need the signal emitter in my PAK shut off, and second, we need a ride home."

Mothman nodded his head, "Fortunately I've gained extensive knowledge about the Irken race by spying on Zim", Mothman said, "I should be able to shut off your signal emitter, but you might have to walk me through it."

Mothman went downstairs and came back with several tools. Krin opened the top of her PAK and Mothman got to work. There were sparks and the sounds of whirring power tools as Mothman carefully decoded the advanced wiring of her PAK. Taz, still holding the bowl of popcorn, watched the sparks intently, occasionally tossing a piece of popcorn into his mouth.

"So", Mothman began offhandedly, "What's your name."

"Shawn. And yours?"

"Dib. Alright that should do it", he said as he pulled his screwdriver out of Krin's Pak, "Zim won't be able to track you anymore."

"Thanks", Krin said.

"No worries", Dib replied, "You guys want something to eat or something?"

"Sure", Shawn replied.

They walked downstairs and into the kitchen. Dib opened the fridge door and started to go through the various foods.

"Could we have burgers", Shawn asked, but Dib shook his head.

"Not unless you want to burn Krin."

"Huh", Shawn asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't you know about Irken weaknesses", Dib asked.

Shawn shook his and Dib sighed.

"We have a lot to teach you my friend."

Over the next half an hour Dib and Krin taught Shawn all about the weaknesses and strengths of the Irken race. Shawn made a mental note of all the things that could hurt Krin, like polluted water or meat, but also of the things Krin was impervious to, like lice, all the while they ate chips and donuts.

"So you were in Zim's base", Dib asked, "Did you destroy anything?"

"Well I disabled his Voot Cruiser", Krin replied.

"Man", Dib sighed, "I was close to disabling his base, but I got captured."

Their conversation was interrupted when the front door open.

"Kids, I'm home."

"Oh man it's my dad", Dib said.

Just as Krin activated her disguise Professor Membrane walked into the Kitchen.

"Hello son", he said in his usual deep voice, "I see you've made some new friends. That's wonderful; friends are the first step towards SANITY!"

"Hi there", Shawn said, standing up, "I'm Shawn Ryder."

"Oh yes", Professor Membrane replied, "I have worked with your father on several occasions, not a bad scientist if I do say so myself. But he is a little to close-minded, always questioning the validity of new ideas."

"Yeah, that sounds like dad", Shawn sighed.

"And this must be your girlfriend", Professor Membrane continued, gesturing to Krin, "Your father did mention your new love interest to me when we last spoke."

Shawn blushed a deep crimson and stuttered uncomfortably. Fortunately Krin was able to find the words he couldn't.

"Well it was nice to meet you", Krin said as she put her arm around Shawn, "But we have to get going."

Dib led the two to the garage, followed by Taz, and stood in front of a large metal object hidden under a tarp.

"Prepare to be amazed", he said, and then pulled off the tarp revealing a space ship, "Ta-da."

"Cool", Shawn said.

The four climbed into the ship and Dib hit the button on a garage door clicker in the ship. The garage door opened and the ship took off over the houses. It covered distance much quicker than Zim's ship, and before they knew it they were hovering next to Shawn's house. Shawn jumped onto the roof and climbed over to his window, opening it and slipping inside. Krin jumped down and followed him.

"Gotta hand it to the kid", Shawn said, "He's got a real brain."

"Well of course", Krin replied, "Look at the size of his head."

"MY HEAD'S NOT BIG", Dib screamed as the cockpit on his ship slid shut and he flew off.

Shawn looked at the clock on his nightstand, it was just past midnight. Krin deactivated her disguise and lied down on his bed. Shawn was about to tell her to go downstairs when he heard footsteps. Before Krin could reactivate her disguise Shawn's dad opened the door to Shawn's room.

And he looked PISSED.

**Well I gave you a little cliffhanger there, I feel like I managed to capture Zim's character, but I had a harder time with Dib, and I know making him shout that his head's not big isn't enough to keep him 100% in character, but I'll try harder next time he comes up.**


	8. Revelations

Professor Ryder stood there, mouth agape, at the sight in front of him. Here, in his house, was a real live alien. His anger at his son being out past curfew nagged at the back of his mind, but the scientist part of his brain took over. He took a tentative step forward and Shawn quickly stood in front of Krin. He recognized that look in his father's eyes. It was that same look he had when Shawn was four and his father realized Shawn's bike contained just the raw parts he needed to complete his latest invention. That look said he was ready to jeopardize something for the sake of discovery, no matter what it was.

"Dad I know what you're gonna say", Shawn said fiercely, "And you're not shipping her off to be experimented on."

"But son", the professor began, like a child who had just been denied a new toy, "Think of the possible discoveries to be made."

"I don't care", Shawn growled, the fire in his eyes intensifying, "Krin isn't going anywhere."

"Krin", the professor asked, "You mean that she is? And when I first met her? And you and she are?"

"Yes, yes, and no", Shawn replied, "She just needed a safe place and some friends and I obliged. There are worse things out there than her."

The professor's eyes lost their determination and his posture relaxed. His morals usually didn't twist like this unless he was on the verge of a major discovery, and a live alien counted. But his fatherly instincts took over and he knew he was talking about a living being, not a material possession Shawn didn't need.

"Well you're still past curfew", he said, turning and starting to leave, "You're grounded for three weeks."

"Thanks dad", Shawn said smiling; grounding was a different way for his father to say 'I want you to help me in the lab for a while.'

After his father had left Taz peeked out from under Shawn's bed, "Is the scary man gone?" he asked.

"When did you get under there", Shawn asked.

Taz glowed red, as if the question activated some sort of information mode, "Sir, I am installed with some of the best short range scanners; I detected the possible foe approaching and decided to hide myself to deter suspicion."

"Oh, nice job", Shawn said, surprised that goofy childish Taz had the ability to be so serious, "What other functions do you have?"

"I have a number of highly lethal weapons, making me an effective combat force", Taz began, still in duty mode, "I also contain auto-map building systems that create a map based on the geography and landmarks of the current region, advanced computer hacking skills, and a thermos function."

"Sweet", Shawn said, until just now Taz had just been something akin to a little brother, now he seemed like something much more important.

"Now whatta we do", he asked, returning to his usual gray.

"Well I don't know about you guys", Krin said starting to walk downstairs, "But I could use a recharge."

"Take Taz with you", Shawn said, pushing the robot along after her, "It's your night with him anyway."

"Fine, come one Taz."

"Okie dokie."

_Transition like Ka-Blam!_

Zim scrubbed his computer angrily. Two prisoners had escaped from him, the almighty and magnificent Zim. It made him sick to think about their smug faces as they merely walked out. He had spent the remainder of the night cleaning the purple containment fluid out of his computer so he could contact the Tallest. It was important he get in contact with them as soon as he could.

"Long range communicators back online", the computer told him.

"Excellent", Zim chirped evilly, "Now contact the Tallest."

"Alright", the computer said, and then started playing elevator music while the call went through.

"And shut off that pitiful earth music", Zim shouted at the computer, "Zim needs no music while he waits!"

Just as the music went off the image of the Tallest appeared onscreen.

"_What now Zim"_, Red groaned impatiently.

"_Yeah"_, Purple put in, a donut shoved into his mouth, _"Can't you see we're busy doing something important?"_

"My Tallest", Zim said, bowing lowly, "I am sorry to report that the defective you ordered me to capture has somehow managed to escape my AMAZING clutches."

"_But Zim"_, Red began, _"We told you-"_

"I know, I've failed you", Zim interrupted, "And normally I'd focus on more important matters, if the defect didn't have something of critical importance."

"_Importance"_, Purple asked, crumbs spilling from his mouth.

"Yes", Zim explained, "It appears she has stolen some experimental holographic disguise generator."

"_Well"_, Red said, _"That actually is important. Since we don't trust you to actually do this we'll bring the armada, and while we're there we might as well conquer the planet, and finally get rid of you, you annoying whiny short little pest."_

"Uh", was Zim's only reply, then he regained his composure and started laughing, "Very funny, you had me going my Tallest."

Red laughed menacingly, _"See you in a few days Zim or more like see your charred laser scarred remains"_, and the transmission cut.

Zim sat in silence for a few minutes before finally speaking.

"COMPUTER", he shouted, "Use lie detector software on the Tallest' voice patterns from the last transmission, just show me how much they were joking."

The computer ran the audio from the last transmission and displayed the data for Zim.

"The Tallest' voice patterns contained no traces of lying", the computer said in its usual monotone voice, "They were telling 100% truth."

Zim fell to his knees. Why would they want to destroy him? Had he not done everything to please them? He blew up the most during Operation Impending Doom: 1, then again, he did kill every other invader. He made some groundbreaking discoveries as a scientist on Vort, but he did kill two Tallest with his creation. Then the hard reality hit Zim, he was defective, he had killed his own kind and enjoyed it, it wasn't intentional, but at the time he couldn't accept what he did or even try to stop it.

And now the Tallest were on their way to earth. That was when Zim made a decision, if they didn't want him as an unstable destructive ally, they would have him as an unstable destructive foe.

"GIR", Zim shouted, "Prepare for transport, we need to go see the Dib-Monkey."

**Kinda short, but I think it works pretty well. In case anyone's wondering it was my plan from the start to have Zim turn against the Tallest, but I hadn't decided on circumstances.**

**Well how will this fateful meeting with Dib and Zim turn out? Will Dib accept Zim as an ally? Or will Dib use this opportunity to expose Zim? Only the next chapter will tell.**


	9. HiSkool parties suck

**Hey everybody. Sorry for the long wait but things have been rough the last couple of weeks. My dog died and my school issue computer (which had all the files for my stories) was stolen, so it's been kind of hectic. But enough philosophy, here is that next chapter for you guys.**

Dib had just finished brushing his teeth and walked back into his room to change. He had barely closed the door when he thought he heard something outside. He was going to dismiss it when his window flew open and Zim tackled him to the ground. Dib attempted to scream out in shock but Zim quickly had his hand over Dib's mouth.

"Silence, Dib-child", Zim said looking around nervously, as if some unseen force was watching, "there's no time."

"What do you want", Dib asked, forcing Zim off of him, "Come to finally surrender?"

"Don't be ridiculous", Zim replied, "I, your most magnificent foe and rival have come to you, not to surrender, but with some news that puts us in a position to be allies."

"Allies", Dib scoffed, "Us? Allies? That's rich Zim."

"YOU FOOL", Zim shrieked at Dib's arrogance, "YOUR WEAK HUMAN MIND FAILS TO COMPREHEND THE GRAVITY OF THE SITUATION!"

Dib gave Zim a skeptical look.

"We haven't got much time, Dib", Zim pleaded, something very out of character for him, "The Armada's going to be here in a few days and-"

"THE ARMADA" Dib shouted, "AS IN THE IRKEN ARMADA?"

"Yes", Zim replied, "Certain facts have been exchanged between me and the Tallest, and now the Armada's on its way. I'll explain to you another time why I've decided to turn against my race, but the fact that I've warned you about the Armada should be proof enough that you can trust me."

Dib was silent, what Zim said made sense, but Zim had tricked him before. He looked down at Zim's outstretched hand, then back up to the Irken's face. His sense of pride seemed to be overpowered by something akin to sincerity. Something in Dib's big head told him he could trust Zim

"Deal" he said, shaking Zim's hand firmly.

_Oh snap, transition time_

The next day Shawn got up and went through his usual morning routine. Shower, brush teeth, dress, eat breakfast. While he ate, he, Taz and Krin sat on his couch watching the Angry Monkey Show.

"I just don't understand", Krin started, "What is so appealing about that monkey?"

"It's the T.V. network pacifying children", Shawn explained, "Keeping them on the couch and away from doing anything remotely productive."

The rest of the show went on in silence. Once Shawn finished his breakfast he put is dishes away and headed for the door.

"I'm going out", he stated, "Be back later."

"I thought you were grounded", Krin asked, "Doesn't that entail things along the line of not leaving the house without permission."

"Things are different for me and my dad, besides, it's more like an errand anyway. Just keep an eye on Taz and make sure nothing blows up."

Shawn said the last bit as if it were a normal occurrence and walked out of the house briskly. As he headed down the street he turned and walked in the direction of Scott's house.

'he better have made good on that pact', Shawn thought to himself.

Halfway through freshman year Shawn had made both Scott and Alison to make a pact that if they were ever out doing something and one of them were abducted by aliens, then the remaining party or parties were to take ownership of the abductees' belongings until they returned. Shawn hoped Scott had remembered and had taken his skateboard home last night. Both he and Alison thought the pact was silly. He stepped up to Scott's door and knocked three times. After a minute Scott answered the door.

"Holy crap, man", he almost shouted as he wrapped his arms around Shawn, "I thought you were gone for good or something."

"Well I'm back", Shawn said, struggling to free himself from Scott's death-grip, "You bring back my skateboard?"

"Oh, yeah", Scott responded, releasing Shawn. He reached behind the door and pulled the board out, "Here ya go."

"Thanks, man", Shawn said as he took the board, "I owe you one."

Shawn then departed. He had skated about halfway home when he passed Alison's house. As he got closer Alison herself came out and waved at him. He stopped to talk to her.

"Hey Alison", Shawn greeted, "What's up?"

"Well you know how my birthdays in a few weeks", Alison asked, "I decided to have my party tonight, think you could come?"

"Sure", Shawn replied, "Can I bring Krin?"

"Oh, sure, I guess", Alison said, staring down at her shoes, "See you at 8."

Shawn said goodbye and continued on his way home. It would take a quick wit and a silver tongue to win over his dad, but luckily Shawn had both. He could convince his dad that, since Alison was a very introverted person, she would only invite him, Scott, and a few girls from art class. It would crush her should Shawn not show up. So when Shawn got home he went down into his father's lab and began looking at his father's latest project. When his dad did get home it was pretty easy to convince him to let him go, so he walked upstairs to get ready to leave.

"Better get ready", he called out to Krin, "We've got a party to go to."

"Party", Krin asked, one of her antennae perking up, "Since when?"

"Since earlier today", Shawn retorted, "Just activate your disguise, easy as that."

"What about Taz?"

"I'll tell dad not to tear him apart. Now could we get going?"

The two walked out of the house and down towards Alison's house. When the house came within eyeshot Shawn pointed it out to Krin. The two stepped onto the front porch and Shawn rang the doorbell. Alison answered after several minutes.

"Hey", she said, then looked at Shawn's arms, feigning offense, "Where's my present?"

"Give me a break", Shawn said sarcastically, "You just told me about this thing a few hours ago."

As Shawn and Krin walked inside Shawn noticed that there were far more people than he expected, easily around 20. Krin walked off to somewhere with Alison, so Shawn went and found Scott standing near the punch bowl.

"Lot more people here than I thought", Shawn stated.

Scott nodded in agreement, "Some of her artsy fartsy friends convinced her to let them invite people. They figured it'd help her make more friends."

Shawn shrugged, and then vaguely noticed a girl staring at him out of the corner of his eye, then turn and talk to her friends.

_Oh no! Crazy girls!_

"Just go grab him and get him over here", one of the girls said to the girl who had been staring at Shawn, "We'll handle it from there."

"OK, just run this whole thing by me again", the girl who had been staring, let's call her Leslie, said.

"Just get him", the other girl, we'll say Beth, started, "And take him in the closet for 7 minutes in heaven. Grab his wallet while he's in there. He's Professor Ryder's kid, he's gotta be loaded."

Leslie took a deep breath, and set out on her sinister mission.

_Now I'll just say it. Shawn's dad doesn't believe in giving Shawn large sums of money, so I have no idea what these girls are expecting. Oh yeah, transition_

Shawn and Scott sat enjoying the comfortable silence. That is, until a certain girl rudely interrupted.

"Excuse me", she asked Shawn, "Could you come over here for a second?"

"Uh, sure", Shawn replied, getting up. He looked back to Scott for silent advice but was met with a dumbfounded shrug. Figures Scott wouldn't know what to do when a girl talks to you.

Leslie led Shawn along the wall of the room then stopped and turned to him. Shawn failed to notice that they stopped right next to a closet.

"So what did you need", Shawn asked.

"I wanted to play a game", Leslie responded, feigning innocence.

"What game", Shawn asked skeptically.

"7 minutes in heaven", Beth chimed in from behind him.

Before Shawn knew what was going on the door to the closet was opened and the girl who brought him over forced him in. He knew what happened during 7 minutes in heaven, but he didn't want to experience it first-hand. Luckily it was a large closet, and Shawn stuck to a corner to avoid the girl. Somehow the girl snuck up from behind him and reached down for his backside. Shawn jumped and sprang to another corner.

'What the hell is going on', he thought.

After a few seconds of silent fumbling Shawn found the doorknob and, ever so silently, pushed it open. The light greeted him with like a blast to the face, but before he could make a break back for Scott he was grabbed by the wrist.

"Help", he shouted, "Rape!"

Leslie quickly clamped a hand over his mouth and started to pull him back into the closet, with the help of Beth. Apparently no one had heard Shawn's outburst over the music. That is, they thought no one did.

_Meanwhile_

Krin had gotten to know a lot about Alison during the course of the party, she was a really nice person. But Krin couldn't shake the feeling that Alison didn't like her for some reason. She finally decided to just be blunt and ask.

"Oh", Alison responded nervously, "It's just, Shawn's like my brother, and I've seen him have crushes before, I was just concerned you might accidentally hurt him."

Krin was shocked. Shawn had a crush on her? She thought her feelings for him were one-sided. She was about to reassure Alison that she wouldn't hurt Shawn when she heard said boys voice.

"Help! Rape!"

Krin's mind had barely registered the words before she had stomped over to where Shawn's voice had come from.

By this time Shawn was growing light headed. He wasn't exactly sure if the two girls knew they were cutting off his oxygen supply, or that he was going to pass out. Either way, he knew he couldn't fight them away and that no matter how hard he'd try, he was going to lose. He was suddenly dropped to the ground when a fist flew into his vision and collided with Beth's face, then Leslie's. his vision began to clear he saw that his savior was Krin. She reached down and helped him to his feet.

"I always hated hi-skool parties", Shawn said under his breath.

Krin giggled slightly, "Maybe this'll help change your mind." She kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"You know", Shawn said grinning, "That kinda did."

**Woohoo, crappy romance. The idea for this chapter was buzzing in my head and I just decided to let it out. Plus I wanted someone to say 'artsy fartsy' teehee. I also was looking for a good time to further the Shawn/Krin romance.**

**Anyhow, you know the whole 'review if you liked this chapter' deal, but also my season one entry for 'Battle Royale' by heartsofstone15 will be appearing sometime soon, so keep an eye out for that. God, I sound like such a review whore. Oh well, see ya people.**


	10. Meeting of the Doomed

**Well, I had some free time and thought I'd give you a quick update, you're welcome**

After the party had ended Shawn and Krin walked back to Shawn's house. There wasn't much conversation but they did hold hands for the entire trip. When they entered the house Shawn noticed the T.V. was on and someone was playing his old Xbox 360. When he walked into the T.V. room he saw that Taz was playing his copy of _Dead Space 2_.

"Taz", Shawn almost shouted at the little robot, "Are you playing on my save file?"

"It said 'continue'", Taz replied innocently, "What was I supposed to do?"

Shawn noticed that Taz hadn't gotten much farther from where Shawn had left off in the game. Pretty soon it became self explanatory as Taz allowed himself to be horribly dismembered by one of the many in-game enemies.

"Hooray", Taz shouted after he died.

"No Taz", Shawn said calmly, "That's bad."

"Oooohhhh", was Taz's only reply.

"Here", Shawn said, taking the controller and sitting next to Taz, "I'll make a profile for you and show you how to play."

Shawn spent the next 10 minutes going through the basic controls for the game. He was about to hand the controller back to Taz when he heard the sound of his father's lab door closing. Professor Ryder walked upstairs into the room, took one look at Shawn with the controller, and went into hardcore dad mode.

"Shawn Ryder", he said, every word seeping with anger, "I said that you're grounded."

"But dad-"

"No buts' young man, go straight to your room and get ready for bed."

Shawn was going to protest further, but simply hung his head in defeat, "Yes, sir", he grumbled as he marched up the stairs.

Before he reached the top of the staircase he heard Krin chuckling loudly, and turned and gave her a death glare. He went to his room and started to change into a pair of sweats. After that he checked his computer and noticed he had a message from the Swollen Eyeball.

"_Agent Basilisk"_, the message began, Shawn recognized it as Dib, _"I tried to contact you but you must be out. Listen carefully: we MUST get in contact soon. I overheard my dad say he was going to visit your dad tomorrow, I'm going to try and tag along, I'd leave you the information in this message, but there are some things that should only be said person-to-person. Hopefully Zim and I will see you tomorrow."_

"Zim and I", Shawn echoed, "I thought Zim was the bad guy."

Shawn shrugged his shoulders; he would definitely have to ask Dib why Zim would be coming. Assuming Dib himself would be coming. Then again, Professor Membrane seemed rather ecstatic about him and Dib being friends, so he would probably bring Dib along. Shawn allowed the thought to dwell in his subconscious as he crawled into his bed. He was sure it could wait until tomorrow.

_The next morning, Dib's house_

"Son", Professor Membrane shouted up the stairs, "If you want to come and see your friend you had better hurry."

"Just a minute", Dib shouted back from his room. He then turned to Zim who was also sitting in his room. "Ready", he asked.

"Pretty much", Zim replied, "Let's just get this revolting trip over with."

"SON", the Professor shouted from downstairs again, "IF WE MISS THIS FLIGHT YOU'LL BE GROUNDED UNTIL YOU'RE IN COLLEGE!"

Needless to say, Dib and Zim booked it down the stairs. Dib and Zim quickly ran to the car and threw their things into the trunk while Professor Membrane stayed inside to check on Gaz.

"Now daughter", he began, "Your brother and I should be back by the end of the week, in the meantime I've asked your teacher, Mr. Elliot, to look after you."

One of Gaz's eyes shot wide open and she turned to look at her father.

"D-did you say, Mr. Elliot?"

"Yes", the Professor responded, oblivious to her apparent rage, "He agreed almost immediately. Well, see you in a few days." And with that the Professor turned and left.

Gaz watched as her dad, Dib, and Zim all got into the car and drove off towards the airport. She stared out the door for a few minutes, hoping Mr. Elliot wouldn't show up, though she knew he would. 'He won't last the night', she thought, grinning menacingly.

_Advance a few hours and transition to Shawn's house_

"Shawn", Professor Ryder called to his son upstairs, "We've got company."

Shawn quickly put on his lucky leather jacket and raced down the stairs. He already knew who it was, but he wanted to seem oblivious.

"Shawn", his dad began, "This is Professor Membrane, his son Dib, and his son's foreign friend Zim."

"Hello there", Professor Membrane greeted, "Nice to see you again young man."

Before Shawn's dad could ask Shawn made up a quick cover story.

"Yeah, dad", he began, "The night Krin and I were out to late, I decided to test out your experimental teleportation watch, turns out it works perfectly."

Professor Ryder thought over the explanation, and then nodded his head in acceptance of it.

"Speaking of your girlfriend", Professor Membrane put in, either not noticing or not caring that Shawn was blushing profusely, "Where is young Krin?"

"Hold on", Shawn said, "Let me go find her."

Shawn turned around walked off to Krin's room. After a few minutes they both walked out.

"Krin, you remember Professor Membrane and Dib", Shawn said, "And this is Zim."

Krin and Zim exchanged deadly glares, which went unnoticed by the two professors.

"Well", Professor Ryder said to break the silence, "Professor Membrane, my personal lab is right this way. I believe you were interested in seeing my fruit growth accelerator."

The two scientists walked down to the lab, leaving the kids in silence. After a minute had gone by, Krin suddenly tackled Zim to the ground. Zim frantically tried to pry himself free from Krin's grasp, but to no avail. Krin wrapped her arm around Zim's neck and started choking him, demanding to know why he was here.

"Should we stop them", Dib asked.

"Nah", Shawn replied, "This is better than Xbox, barely."

"Well I kinda need Zim to be not dead", Dib explained.

"Why is that", Shawn asked.

"Let's just say he has vital information."

The two then turned back to the fight. Shawn noticed that there was also a green dog with a zipper running down the front of its chest sitting on his doormat. Before he could ask the dog unzipped itself and revealed itself as Zim's robot, GIR. Taz chose that particular time to walk downstairs, see GIR, and squeal like a child who had just been reunited with a long lost friend.

"Krin", Shawn said calmy, "I think you've made your point, you REALLY don't like Zim."

It took several minutes for Shawn to finally get Krin to release Zim, but he was able to do it. Zim, his wig and contacts now discarded on the floor, whimpered like a dog and cowered behind Dib, thinking the big headed child could protect him from Krin.

"Alright", Shawn said, "Now I believe you have some important information for us?"

"That's right", Dib responded, "Zim, would you care to enlighten us?"

"Why should I tell them", Zim asked, "One of them is a pathetic earth-child and the other attacked me while I was off guard. She also destroyed my Voot cruiser."

"What can I say Zim", Krin asked, shrugging your shoulders, "You just have that effect on people."

Zim grumbled something incoherent under his breath, but shared the news about the coming of the armada anyway. While he was talking, Taz went to the fridge and retrieved some orange juice, which he and GIR took turns sipping as they listened to the story. After Zim was finished Taz and GIR began applauding loudly, earning glares from Shawn and Zim respectively.

"How soon until you think they arrive", Shawn asked the calmness still in his voice.

"They said a few days", Zim replied, "That doesn't give us a lot of time."

Then, as if summoned by the conversation, Zim's communicator extended from his PAK and displayed the image of the Tallest. They looked at Zim with hate, and then looked over the others present. Their gaze finally settled on Krin.

"_Ah yes"_, Red began, _"Rogue defective soldier Krin. You've been making quite a nuisance of yourself lately. Stealing both an experimental holographic disguise generator and an old SIR unit. What a pity, you were such a good student at the academy."_

"What do you want", Krin spat.

"_To give you a chance to surrender"_, Red said with mock sympathy, "_as we speak the Armada is preparing to travel to your pathetic little dirt ball. But if you and Zim agree to surrender, your executions will be quite painless, and the local population of the planet will be spared slavery."_

"Forget it", Shawn shouted, causing the Tallest to face him, "No way will we surrender to the likes of you."

"_Quite outspoken, aren't we"_, Purple added, _"Seeing you try to defend your planet will be quite enjoyable."_

Before Shawn could respond the Tallest turned to Zim and Dib.

"_And you two"_, Red began, sneering devilishly, _"There's someone looking forward to seeing you two again. I believe you both remember Tak."_

Zim and Dib both gasped at the name. Then they heard the familiar, almost British sounding, laughing in the background. Although for Krin that laughing carried a whole different meaning.

_Flashback to Krin's training days on Devastis_

_Krin ran alongside her fellow Irkens through the academy's obstacle course. After this, they would be going to their individual elective courses. Most students probably picked an elective related to torture, or doom bringing, but not Krin. She was one of the few at the academy who took Negotiations. It wasn't the most popular class, but some students had to take it for when a planet requested a peaceful inclusion into the Empire._

_Most of the time students were forced to be in the class just so they could barely fill the seats, but Krin had actually voluntarily signed up. There was something about the course, it was just so different, so out there, that Krin couldn't resist signing up for it._

_She managed to get lost in her thoughts and slipped in one of the many mud puddles on the course. As she frantically jumped to her feet and kept running she heard a familiar malevolent laugh behind her._

"_Nice going", Tak hissed from behind her, "What's wrong? Can't even keep your head on straight on a simple obstacle course?"_

"_Shut up, Tak", Krin hissed back, "I've just got a lot on my mind."_

_Tak was something akin to Krin's rival at the academy. Even though Tak was in the course to become an Irken elite, Krin still managed to match her in every other class. The current Tallest even offered a chance for Krin to be put in the class for the elite soldiers, but she declined. Tak felt that, since Krin didn't want to be an elite, she didn't deserve to be doing as well as someone who did want to be an elite, so she made sure to always try and bring Krin down a notch._

"_Just remember", Tak growled lowly as she ran alongside Krin, "When you're busy signing treaties and making worthless deals. I'll be advancing the glory of the Empire."_

_Tak let out another piercing laugh before shoving past Krin and moving further onto the obstacle course._

_Current time_

Krin felt the same anger she felt that day return as she heard Tak's high-pitched shriek, but she managed to contain her anger.

"_Well than I guess we'll see you in a few days"_, Red said, _"To bad you want to take the hard road."_ Then he cut the transmission, leaving the four present in silence.

**MORE DRAMA!**

**I also wanted to tell you guys that my entry for the Battle Royale is up, and if some of you could read/review it that would mean the world to me. You could find it in the Battle Royale community.**

**Well, that's all for now dear readers.**


	11. Something to Prove

Shawn paced the floor of his living room, his thoughts frazzled. Dib, Zim, and Krin all stared at the floor silently, none of them finding words for the situation. Even GIR and Taz didn't say anything, but that was because neither of their masters seemed in the mood to do anything fun. Shawn looked up at the other three present and noticed that Dib and Zim's mouths were hanging open, and Krin seemed possessed by a sudden fit of rage. He thought about how the Tallest had mentioned that Irken, Tak. What was so special about that Irken in particular?

"Anyone want to fill me in on this 'Tak' character", Shawn asked no one in particular.

After a pause Krin spoke up, "Let's just say she's a threat," she said through gritted teeth, "A considerably threatening threat."

"Yeah", Dib added, "She almost destroyed earth once."

Shawn raised an eyebrow. How did he not know that the earth was almost destroyed? He considered telling his dad and Professor Membrane about all this, but something in his gut told him not to. Coincidentally, just as Shawn thought about his dad, that same voice broke his train of thought.

"Shawn", Professor Ryder called from his lab, "Professor Membrane wanted to take a look at one of your projects."

"C-coming", Shawn called back, cursing his nervousness. Before he left he turned to the other three present, "We'll think of something, I just know it."

As Shawn walked down the steps to his father's lab he hung his leather jacket on a coat hook and donned a lab coat his size. One of the few rules his father had regarding Shawn being in his lab was that he had to wear a lab coat. As Shawn hesitantly approached the two professors he saw that they were standing next to a small table. On the table was a manikin hand wearing what appeared to be a regular fingerless glove.

"That", Shawn asked, "It's a handheld GPS and map. I thought of it after playing _Dead Space 2_."

"Ah yes", Professor Ryder added, "Shawn gets a lot of his ideas from things he sees in the world. More often than not he makes improvements to preexisting inventions or, in cases like this, he takes something from a game or movie and creates a working copy."

"Impressive", Professor Membrane said, "How does it work?"

"Well, it doesn't", Shawn admitted, taking the glove off the manikin hand and putting it on his left hand, "I mean, the guidance part works fine, but it can't map out a new area."

Shawn activated the GPS to demonstrate. A blue light shot down from his palm onto the floor and pointed out right in front of him.

"As you can see", Shawn explained, turning, causing the line to turn with him, "If it could automatically map out an area once it was there, it would open up a map and I would specify a location, then it would lead me there. However, since it can't map an area out automatically it can't pinpoint locations; I'm still working on that."

Membrane nodded his head, the turned back to Professor Ryder.

"Well, thank you for the quite enjoyable tour", he said politely, "I'm sure that when we get to your main labs tomorrow to resume our work that I'll be no less disappointed. As for now, I must be off."

The three turned and walked towards the lab exit, with Shawn stopping to switch coats and put the glove back in its place. When they returned to the living room Krin, Zim, and GIR had put their disguises back on, and Taz had disappeared somewhere, probably hiding under the couch.

"Son", Professor Membrane declared, raising an arm into the air dramatically, "We must now return to our hotel."

Membrane, Dib, Zim, and GIR all walked out the door. Shawn closed the door behind them and turned back to the room. As soon as the door closed Taz climbed out from under the couch. Professor Ryder stared at Taz confusedly for a second, then shrugged and went back to his lab. Shawn thought about his GPS project, and then remembered something Taz had told him before.

"Come on Taz", he said, "We're going to the lab."

Taz shrugged and hopped off the couch to follow Shawn. The two made their way down to the lab and stood next to the table with the GPS on it. Shawn picked Taz up and placed him on the table and then put the glove back on his hand.

"Can you show me those auto-map building systems", Shawn asked, "Maybe display them externally?"

Taz opened up the top of his head and rooted around inside. After a short time he pulled a strange looking device out of his head and handed it to Shawn. Shawn looked at the device, then picked up a screwdriver and opened it up. He examined the electrical wiring and began to mimic it using spare parts in the lab.

'Strange', he thought to himself, 'If they're such and advanced race why do they use such basic technology?'

In a few hours he had created a copy of the map building software and installed it into the glove. He handed the device back to Taz, who opened up the top of his head and reinserted it. Shawn activated the GPS and almost shouted out in excitement when a holo-map of his town appeared over his wrist. He quickly selected a location and watched as the light trail directed him up the stairs and out of the house.

"See ya dad", he said as he turned and started to walk out of the lab, "I'm gonna take this thing on a field test."

"Wait", his dad called back, "You're grounded."

"Come on", Shawn replied, "This is for science."

His dad groaned under his breath as Shawn and Taz walked out of the lab.

"Always something to prove, that boy."

The professor walked up the stairs and into the living room. Shawn had left the door open in his rush to get outside, so the professor closed it for him. As he turned around the professor saw Krin and Taz sitting on the couch. He still didn't know a whole lot about Krin, and he was curious to learn. So he walked into the T.V. room and sat down in a chair on the other side of the room as the couch.

"Oh, hello", Krin greeted as she saw the professor.

"Hello there", the professor greeted back, "If you don't mind, I was wondering if I could ask a little bit about your friendship with Shawn."

"Sure", Krin responded, "Ask away."

"Well", the professor began awkwardly, "I was just wondering how you two developed such a close friendship so fast. I don't know if you know this but Shawn suffers from Asperger Syndrome, a slight mental disorder which causes an individual to be socially awkward. It also causes someone to become intently interested, sometimes even obsessed, with a certain topic. That's what I think caused him to study the paranormal."

Krin was silent. Shawn didn't seem like he had anything wrong with him. Then again, when they first went to Alison's party he did seem…twitchy. He seemed uncomfortable with all the people around. Then why did he find it so easy to take her in and be friends with her? That probably had something to do with his fascination with the paranormal.

"I tried taking him to a therapy session once", the professor continued, the speech now becoming sort of a rant, "But after it was over he refused to go back. He said the therapist made him uncomfortable, made him talk about things he wanted to keep to himself. Ever since then he's always tried to prove that he can overcome it on his own, that he can control the sickness and keep it from affecting his life."

Krin still didn't say anything. What the professor had just told her was a lot to swallow right now, especially with everything else that was going on. She decided she'd talk to Shawn about it when he got back. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't even notice the professor get up and return to his lab.

It was dark by the time Shawn returned to the house. He opened the door and walked in with a triumphant pose.

"It works", he exclaimed, sitting down next to Krin, "My invention works."

"You sound surprised", Krin replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, it's good to not have one of my inventions blow up in my face, literally and figuratively speaking."

"Oh, you know", Krin began tentatively, "I had an interesting talk with your dad."

"Oh yeah", Shawn asked, him raising an eyebrow this time, "And just what was it about?"

"Well, he told me a little bit about you. He told me about something called 'Asperger syndrome'."

"That", Shawn asked, waving his hand in a dismissive way, "It's no big deal, nothing I can't deal with."

"I'm sure", Krin said, "But it got me thinking, if you're somewhat anti-social, why'd you find it so easy to be friends with me? Better yet, why'd you take me in like you have?"

"Oh, w-w-well", Shawn stuttered, clearly caught off guard by the question, "I guess there was just something about you. It was kind of like how easy it was for me to be friends with Scott. I don't really know why, it was just easy for me."

Krin opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a loud gasping sound from the other end of the couch. Krin and Shawn both looked over to Taz, who was staring, mouth agape, at the T.V., where a commercial for the Game Slave 3 was playing.

"Need…Stuff…" Taz said, sounding in a trance-like state, then went silent and continued staring at the screen.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else", Shawn stated, getting up and heading out of the room. Krin followed right behind him.

As the two made their way up the stairs Krin gently slipped her hand into Shawn's. Shawn squeezed her hand slightly and opened the door to his room once they arrived. Shawn sat down at the rolling chair in front of his desk and Krin sat down on his bed. Shawn took his GPS glove off his hand and laid it on his desk, then booted up his computer. He turned back to Krin when a chat from the Swollen Eyeball opened up.

"_Shawn"_, the voice said, _"Glad I caught you."_

"Yeah Dib", Shawn replied, turning to face the screen, "What do ya need?"

"_I was talking with Zim and he said he may be able to tell when the Armada will arrive."_

Dib waved something off screen over to him. Soon he was joined by another figure, also silhouetted, though Shawn could make out the antennae and large eyes. It was obviously Zim.

"_Yes dirt-child"_, Zim said to Shawn, _"I have used my files on the Armada's ships and, comparing them with the amount of time it took me to reach earth, believe that they will reach the earth in about 5 days."_

"Well what do we do", Shawn asked, "Should we tell our dads?"

"_Maybe"_ Dib said, _"Both our dads are respected men of science, their opinions wouldn't be taken lightly."_

Shawn nodded in agreement, "Well, thanks for the heads up on where we stand Dib."

Shawn ended the video chat then turned back to Krin. She just stared at the floor, as if watching something that only she could see happening.

"What's on your mind", Shawn asked.

Krin jerked her head up and stared at Shawn, "Oh, nothing, just thinking."

"About?"

"You know, that one night when we were fighting on the floor, I think I figured out what Scott meant when he said you were winning."

Shawn didn't say anything, but his cheeks flushed a deep crimson at the memory. He tentatively took a few steps forward and sat next to Krin on the bed. Krin slowly leaned her head against Shawn's shoulder. Shawn put his arm around Krin and the two sat in silence for a short time. Eventually Shawn felt Krin's head moving against his cheek. When he turned to look their lips touched for a second. Shawn pulled away and his blush deepened, if that was even possible. Krin's face turned slightly darker green, what he guessed was the Irken equivalent to blushing, and she giggled and leaned forward slightly. Shawn, after a split second's hesitation, also leaned forward and the two kissed briefly.

"Shawn and Krin Sitting in a tree", Taz's voice rang out from a crack in the door neither of them had seen, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

Shawn grabbed a pillow from his bed and threw it at the crack in the door. The door opened more from the impact and revealed Professor Ryder standing behind Taz. Shawn and Krin both blushed again and instinctively scooted away from each other slightly. Professor Ryder only smiled and turned to walk away, but muttered a few parting words first.

"Always something to prove."

**HAPPY MARCH READERS! I've been working on this chapter for a while but decided to wait for the first of the month to post it.**

**So, I have mixed feelings about this chapter, on one hand, I feel like it was well written, on the other I feel like I didn't get much actual story progression done.**

**Rest assured that the next chappie will definitely pick up on the action; I just felt I needed to shed a little more light on Shawn's character. I also felt like I'd been dancing around the romance and that I just needed to kind of hit it head on.**

**Well, that is all for now, remember to read and review and the next chapter will be here before ya know it.**


	12. The Beginning of the End

**Wow, this is one LONG chapter, oh well, I had lots of good ideas, so sue me (please don't actually sue me, I'm broke as is). Another note, I've had a poll up on my profile asking which of my OC's your favorite is. I'm letting everyone know the poll will be closing at the end of this week. So feel free to vote and stuffs.**

The next three days went by far too fast. Dib decided to be the one to break the news to his and Shawn's dads, with the help of Zim to back up his claims. Shawn, in the meantime, became greatly interested with Krin's ship. He, Krin, and Taz spent most of their time either scouring junkyards or Professor Ryder's lab for parts or up in the hills with the ship looking over the various operating systems.

"Most of this stuff's intact", Shawn commented while sitting in the cockpit, "The computer systems are in working order, it even syncs up with my laptop. It looks like the right engine just need some work."

Shawn got out of the cockpit and he and Krin went around the back of the cruiser to look at the engines. The first engine's shielding was dented, but relatively undamaged. The second engine, however, was almost completely caved in, and when Krin went to start the cruiser the engine coughed out sparks and random tufts of fire.

"TURN IT OFF", Shawn shouted, dodging the sparks as they darted out at him, "TURN IT OFF!"

Krin shut the engine off and rejoined Shawn. She didn't even try to hide the grin on her face. Shawn was going to say something when his phone rang.

"Dad", he spoke into the phone, "What? Alright, we'll be right there", Shawn hung up and then turned back to Krin, "Dib told my dad and Membrane, he wants us to head to his main labs right away."

Professor Ryder's main labs were a half hour walk from Shawn's house. In order to make travel quick, Shawn and Krin rode on Taz's back.

"Please keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times", Taz said as Shawn and Krin climbed onto his back, then they rocketed off down the street.

When they reached Professor Ryder's lab they walked inside. As they walked in Krin deactivated her holographic disguise, earning a loud, overdramatic gasp from Professor Membrane. Shawn stood next to Dib, who had set up a board with a large drawing of the Armada on it. Below the picture was a signature that read 'courtesy of the AMAZING and FAR SUPERIOR ZIM!' Zim stood on the other side of the board with a smug grin on his face, satisfied with his work.

"Now", Dib said, gesturing to the largest ship on the board with the pointer, "This is the Massive, the head ship. According to Zim these pods on the side are loaded with snacks, which they use to feed the rest of the Armada. If we can destroy those pods, the Armada will be weakened, and we can finish them off."

"Brilliant", Professor Membrane said, then tapped a button on his shoulder, "Did you hear that, Mr. President-man?"

"_I sure did"_, responded an eccentric voice, Shawn recognized it as the president, _"Guess we were all wrong about your crazy son, Membrane."_

"Yes, I suppose we were", Membrane sighed.

Dib beamed at being recognized by both his father and the president. Unfortunately, there was something nagging at the back of Shawn's mind. He cleared his throat, attracting everyone's attention, and then spoke.

"What about a truce", he asked.

When the only response he got was confused stares he elaborated.

"Wouldn't it be better if we could strike some sort of a truce with the Irkens? After all, what about them", he gestured to Krin and Zim, "If we fight off the Irkens they'd be exposed in the process. That sort of publicity would earn them being scorned by humanity. But if we could work out peace with the Irkens they would be accepted, especially if they were a major part of that truce."

There was a long silence. Dib looked from the board to Shawn, skepticism written all over his face. Professor Membrane rubbed his chin, deep in thought. Professor Ryder paced the floor, his eyes glued to the ground as if it would somehow give him the answer. Krin's shoulders slumped, a truce did seem like a good alternative to her, but she didn't see how it could be possible.

"You'd have to destroy the Control Brains", Zim said, all eyes turning to him, "They're sort of like what control the Irken race. When an Irken is born the Control Brains program their personality, but they also have control over an individual's mind. That's what sets defectives apart; the Control Brains have no control over their thoughts."

"Yeah", Krin interjected, "And there _is _only one Control Brain left anyway."

"Really", Zim asked.

"Don't you remember your annual existence evaluation? When you overloaded the Control Brains with all that destruction the Control Brain on Irk had to shut them down. After that the Irk Control Brain had the Tallest move it onto the Massive for safety."

"Existence Evaluation?" Shawn asked.

"Irkens are annually evaluated by the Control Brains to determine if they should be remembered", Krin explained, "When Zim was evaluated there was so much destruction in his life that the Control Brains overloaded, only the one that was on Irk is left."

"SEE", Zim shouted at no one and everyone, "Zim _is_ amazing."

"But how would he get to the Massive", Professor Ryder asked, completely ignoring Zim, "And if he did, how would he destroy this 'Control Brain'?"

Krin paused, but Shawn picked that question up.

"Krin's ship and disguise generator", he exclaimed, "I could disguise myself as an Irken and easily make my way to the Control Brain, from there it's just a manual shut down."

"It would know something's up the second you started toying with it", Zim said, "You'd either need to get a lot of firepower onto the Massive or get the Control Brain to shut itself off."

Shawn rubbed his chin, then snapped his fingers and pulled his dad off to the side. He whispered something into his ear and after a few minutes his dad nodded his head in agreement. The two turned back to the others, who stood waiting expectantly.

"We have a solution", Shawn proclaimed, "But first we need to finish Krin's ship."

Shawn turned on his heel and walked out of the lab, after a pause Krin, Taz, Dib, Zim, and GIR followed him. Shawn slowed his pace when he was out of the lab and the others quickly caught up to him. They all walked in silence until they reached the foot of the hill where Krin's ship was located.

"Alright", Shawn said to Zim and Dib, "Follow us."

Once they had reached Krin's ship she climbed into the cockpit and activated the onboard computer.

"Computer, show me the ship's status."

"_Hull integrity at 63%"_, the computer's voice responded, _"Primary and secondary weapons both at half power. Engine one at 70%, engine two at 3%. Alert, recommend immediate repairs to engine two. All internal hardware is within normal functional capacity."_

"Alright", Krin said as she climbed out of the ship, "Guess we just need to make repairs to the engine and the hull. Zim, go get your cruiser and bring it here. How soon do you think you'll be back?"

"Within the hour, let's go GIR."

Zim climbed onto GIR's back and they flew off towards Zim's base, leaving the others in a cloud of smoke. Shawn coughed before turning back to Dib and Krin.

"Alright, you two head back to my house and look for some of the stuff needed to fix the ship's engine. I'll take Taz and get some scrap metal from the junkyard."

Shawn and Taz turned and walked off towards the city junkyard. When they arrived the owner greeted Shawn with a wave. Shawn awkwardly returned the wave without saying anything and kept walking. After twenty minutes of scouring Shawn had found the pieces of metal required to patch the holes in the ship's hull. He and Taz turned to leave but were stopped by Isaac Henderson.

"Why can't you just leave me alone", Shawn asked.

"Oh come on Shawn", Isaac said, feigning pity and innocence, "I've just got some friends that want to meet you."

He sidestepped and three other boys were standing behind him. The only expression on their faces were devious grins, Shawn knew something bad was about to happen. The boys took a step forward, and Shawn instinctively took a step back. He recognized these three new boys. Suddenly a horrible repressed memory came rushing back.

_Flashback_

_A younger, weakened Shawn lay on the ground in the fetal position while four boys continuously kicked him. One of the boys, a younger Isaac, tricked Shawn into meeting him alone in the alley behind skool. As soon as Shawn had arrived Isaac and the other three boys jumped him, they punched him until, in an attempt to flee, Shawn tripped and lay crumpled on the ground. He tasted blood as the feet continuously pounded into his sides._

_Once the beating was over Shawn lay still until the boys left. Through blurry vision he saw as the boys calmly made their way out of the alley, except for one who stopped and turned around to face Shawn._

"_Stupid paranormal obsessed freak", the boy said, then turned and walked away._

_End flashback_

Shawn shook off the memory and focused on the situation at hand. The boys were blocking the main way out of the junkyard, it would be suicide to try and get past them. Then he noticed Isaac kept looking over at Taz. Shawn knew he had to make sure Isaac didn't get his hands anywhere near the little robot.

"Taz", Shawn whispered, his eyes still locked on the boys, "Take the scrap metal and get out of here."

"B-b-b-", Taz stuttered, "But what about you?"

"I'll be fine", Shawn whispered back roughly, "Just go."

Taz paused, then nodded and took off into the sky. Shawn allowed himself to watch as Taz sailed over the junkyard and towards home. Then he turned his attention back to the boys. Isaac looked furious, and without warning he charged at Shawn. Shawn quickly jumped out of the way and stuck out his foot, causing Isaac to crash to the ground.

"Get him", Isaac shouted as he pulled himself up.

Shawn, taking advantage of the pause, took off deeper into the junkyard. He heard his pursuers not far behind as he climbed a pile of old car parts. Once at the top he looked back and saw them about halfway up. He kicked at some of the loose metal and sent it tumbling down towards them. He heard their frustrated groans as he slid down the other end of the pile and kept running. Soon he found an old hallowed out car, and decided it would be the best place to hide.

He crawled through where the window once was and hid in the driver's seat. He looked out the review mirror and saw them walking off in the opposite direction. He sighed with relief and relaxed further into the seat. He decided he'd just wait there until he was sure it was safe.

_Meanwhile, just outside the solar system_

The Massive exited hyper-drive at the edge of earth's solar system, followed by the rest of the Armada. The Tallest looked out of the Massive's main view screen at the space in front of them.

"Wow", Purple said, "When Zim said they were stupid, I assumed he meant they hadn't discovered faster-than-light travel. But just look, no space ships, no space defense stations, not even any long range communication systems."

"Good thing we're not here for technology", Red said flatly, "We're here to tie up some loose ends and enslave a race."

"Bring the Massive closer to the planet", a deep voice boomed. Both Tallest turned to face the Control Brain, "Then lock onto defect Zim's PAK signal."

The Tallest exchanged glances, then nodded and continued looking back out the screen. Earth was soon visible and one of the Irkens on deck entered Zim's PAK code. A part of the planet was zoomed in on screen until they could see Zim entering his base.

"Now", Red said menacingly, "Let's finish this."

_At Zim's base_

"GIR", Zim shouted from his hanger, "Let's go!"

"Yes, my master", GIR replied, and then hopped into the Voot cruiser next to Zim.

The ship lifted up into the air and started to fly off back towards Krin's ship's crash site. They hadn't covered too much distance when a powerful laser blast struck the side of the ship. Zim was thrown roughly against the back of the ship, but pulled himself back into his seat.

"Take over", he shouted at the computer, "Take evasive maneuvers." He knew what was happening; he was just surprised it was happening so soon.

_Back at the junkyard_

Shawn climbed out of the window of the car and cautiously started to walk out of the junkyard. He stopped at the entrance and paid the owner for the metal Taz had taken, and then started walking home. He hadn't gotten far when he heard footsteps behind him. He glanced over his shoulder for a second then took off at a dead run, Isaac and his cronies close behind him.

Shawn looked over his shoulder a second time to see how far behind him the boys were, but ran straight into someone.

"Hey, watch it", a familiar voice said, it was, of course, Scott.

"Holy shit", Shawn yelled as he jumped to his feet and stood behind Scott, "I am glad to see you."

Scott didn't have to ask why; the four boys that were standing in front of them explained everything. Isaac stepped forward and locked eyes with Shawn. Shawn took a step out from behind Scott and returned the stare, three times more furiously.

"Get out of here, Lochtie", Isaac said roughly, his eyes still locked with Shawn's, "This isn't your business."

"My friend, my business", Scott said.

Scott took a step forward and raised his fists. One of the boys behind Isaac took a slight step back. Scott was a pretty intimidating figure, six feet tall and mean when he wanted to be, and Shawn being threatened was a damn good reason. No one figured out what was going to happen next because there was a deafening _BOOM_ and the earth shook beneath the boys. Shawn saw Zim's ship zoom by overhead, followed by another ground shaking blast.

"It's starting", Shawn whispered, and then he grabbed Scott by the wrist and started running back to his house. "Come on", he shouted to his friend, "There's no time to waste."

The two covered the distance to Shawn's house in record time. When they entered they saw Dib, Krin, and Taz standing in front of his dad's lab.

"Krin, Taz", Shawn said, "Take Scott and the scrap metal and head up to the hill. Dib and I'll be right there."

Krin nodded and the three left with the scrap metal.

"Come on, Dib", Shawn continued, turning to the boy, "We're heading down to the lab."

The two quickly walked down to the lab. Dib went and grabbed a blowtorch and a safety mask while Shawn grabbed his GPS glove and slipped it on. After that he grabbed a small electrical device and duct tape and started taping the thing to his shirt. After the two were done they made their way to the hill.

Once they arrived Shawn donned the mask and nervously started to weld the scrap metal to the damaged parts of the ship's hull. After a few burns and swears Shawn was finally done.

"Where's Zim", Krin asked, "We'll need him to help distract the Armada."

"He's already under attack", Shawn said, "He might need help."

"Somebody mind telling me what the hell's going on", Scott asked.

"In short", Shawn started, "Alien invasion, we're trying to stop it, and the whole world is probably going to explode."

"Oh, carry on then."

Krin took her disguise generator off of her wrist and handed it to Shawn. He strapped it to his wrist and tapped the only button. The air around him shimmered as his appearance changed into an Irken wearing a standard soldier's outfit, with lime green skin, and dark red eyes. Scott did a double take at the new appearance his friend had donned.

"Alright", he said, a goofy grin widening on his face, "I try that next."

"You get to try it if I make it back in one piece", Shawn clarified as he climbed into the ship.

Scott looked down at his friends words. That was a particular thought he wouldn't want to think about. Krin caught Shawn's hand before he was completely inside the cruiser.

"You _will_ be coming back in one piece", she ordered, and then she kissed him deeply.

Shawn stumbled and almost fell out of the ship from the kiss. He regained himself and turned his attention over to Dib.

"Take Taz and Scott and get your ship, you'll probably need it."

Dib and Scott both nodded, and then left on Taz. Shawn turned and climbed back into the cruiser then activated the engines and took off into the sky. He hit the auto pilot button and selected the Massive on an onboard map. As he neared the Massive he noticed that he was being hailed. As he opened a comm channel he recognized the voices of the Tallest.

"_Soldier, identify yourself"_, Tallest Purple ordered.

"This is Irken soldier…um… Ark. I was involved in that pre-strike thing but got hit. I need to dock on the Massive for repairs."

There was silence for a few minutes and Shawn was getting more and more apprehensive. 'What if they don't buy it', he thought, 'What if they just blow me out of the sky.'

"_Very well"_, Tallest Red finally replied, _"Dock in the hangar for repairs."_

Shawn breathed a sigh of relief and then pinpointed where he wanted the auto pilot to take him. Once he landed inside the Massive's main hangar he got out and activated his GPS. He scrolled through the map of the Massive it had made and finally found the Tallest's chamber. He selected that location and set off at a brisk pace.

'Time to end this.'

_Back with Krin_

Krin sat on the hill alone for a while until Dib, Scott, and Taz had returned with Dib's ship. Krin recognized the ship as a Spittle Runner, albeit a Spittle Runner that had many modifications made to it.

"This ship is Irken", Krin commented, "Where'd you get it?"

"Oh, after Tak attempted to invade the earth she ejected from her ship and it crashed in my backyard", Dib explained.

"So it's Tak's ship", Krin said, raising an eyebrow, "Do you think I could borrow it?"

"What? No", Dib shouted, but it was too late, Krin was already making her way into the ship.

"I'll bring it back", Krin assured as the cockpit slid shut, "Though I can't assure you it'll be in the best of condition."

The cockpit closed and the ship lifted off the ground and flew off into space. Krin flew slowly towards the Armada, when she was close enough she opened a comm channel.

"This is former Irken soldier Krin", she spoke into the comm, "I'm broadcasting on an open channel that all ships in the Armada can here. I know you're there, Tak. I've got your ship. If you want it, come and get it."

**I realize some of you might think the battle between Krin and Tak might be catfight-esque, but I assure you it won't. They'd only fight like soldiers and rivals, which is why I am going to include the battle, because I think it would be pretty epic.**

**Also, in regards to Professor Membrane talking to the president via a shoulder comm link, I assure you that IS canon information. If any of you who haven't would watch the episode 'Bloaty's Pizza Hog', the Professor speaks to someone in his lab multiple times via a comm like system on his shoulder. And since he's supposed to be the most important man in the world it would make sense that he could talk to the president through said comm as well.**

**And the mention of Zim's existence evaluation is also canon; see the unaired episode 'The Trial'.**


	13. The Invasion

Tak sat with her arms crossed in the Spittle Runner she was given, waiting for the fight to start. The Tallest had sent a medium sized group of various ships to soften the earth's defenses, as well as make their presence known. She just wanted to be the one to blow Zim's cruiser out of the sky. After what he had done when she was on earth that was all that really mattered to her right now. However, her priorities shifted when she heard a voice over the comm system.

"_This is former Irken Krin"_, the voice said, Tak recognized it with little difficulty, _"I'm broadcasting on an open channel that all ships in the armada can hear. I know you're there, Tak. I've got your ship. If you want it, come and get it."_ Then the comm went dead.

Tak was silent, and then saw a sight that was unmistakably her ship come into view. Another, most likely overeager, Irken must have also heard Krin's little message, because they pulled ahead of Tak's ship and started to accelerate towards Krin.

"Soldier", Tak shouted into the comm at the other ship, "Get back into position NOW! This one's mine."

The Irken in the other ship didn't say anything, but slowed their ship and turned to rejoin the Armada. Tak opened a private comm to the Tallest.

"My Tallest", she began reverently, "Did you just hear that transmission?"

"_Yes"_, Tallest Red replied, _"I suppose you want to go and be the one to take care of that defect?"_

"If you would prefer that I didn't, then I will respect your wishes."

"_No, no"_, Purple cut in, _"Knock yourself out, but if it looks like you're losing we might not be able to send reinforcements."_

"I understand", Tak said as she started to accelerate, "Thank you, my Tallest."

_On Krin's ship_

Krin watched as a lone Spittle Runner made its way towards her. She knew Tak wouldn't pass up a chance to take her in combat one-on-one, and the fact that she had Tak's ship would just be an added push. She expected Tak to come at her guns blazing, so she was rather surprised when Tak opened a private comm channel.

"_Hello Krin"_, Tak said in a dangerously calm voice, _"Nice to see you again."_

"For an elite soldier you sure suck at lying", Krin spat back. She was usually nice to pretty much everyone, but this was different, this was Tak. "Why don' we just get this over with?"

"…_Fine by me."_

The primary lasers on Tak's Runner warmed up and streamed across the empty space towards Krin's ship. Krin quickly banked to the side and accelerated towards Tak. Just as she was getting close, Krin quickly swerved upwards. Tak took the bait and pursued Krin, occasionally firing her lasers when she saw an opportunity. She was so focused on making sure her shots hit that she didn't notice Krin's pulse blasters turn to face her. There was a brilliant flash as two balls of pulse energy splashed across the front of Tak's ship.

Krin grinned to herself, but her joy was short lived when Tak rammed her full speed. Krin tried to increase her speed to get more breathing room, but her ship suddenly rocked violently. A computer flashed and informed her that her left engine was completely offline.

'She shot me at point blank range', Krin thought to herself, 'Clever girl, but two can play at that game.'

Krin powered up both her laser cannons and pulse blasters and fired both back into Tak's ship.

_Zim's Voot cruiser_

Zim aimed the lasers on his Voot manually while the onboard computer continued to perform evasive maneuvers. A squad of four Spittle Runners was pursuing him relentlessly, but Zim wasn't about to give up. He targeted one of the ships, and fired. A streak of energy surged out of his ship and hit the Runner head on. The enemy ship started smoking, then was engulfed in flames, and finally crashed to the ground.

Zim was about to focus his attention on the other three Spittle Runners when a missile flew from the opposite direction and struck one of them, which spiraled out of control and fell towards the ground. A group of three army jets flew into Zim's field of view and began firing their machine guns at the two remaining Runners.

One of the Runners fired a pulse blast and hit one of the three jets, which exploded in a cloud of fire. Zim quickly spun around and headed for the last Spittle Runner, determined to take it down. Just as the two ships were about to crash Zim angled slightly to the side so that only the side of his ship hit the Runner. Both ships tumbled out of the sky, but Zim made one last crash into the Runner and sent it into a building.

"Hang on to something GIR", Zim shouted back at his little robot, "We're going down."

GIR looked around, and then wrapped his arms around himself. Zim fought to make the landing as smooth as possible, but he knew they were going to crash. He decided to brace himself for the fall. He hung on to the back of his seat with an iron grip as his Voot plummeted into the asphalt.

_Just outside of earth's atmosphere_

Tak and Krin's ships, both having taken considerable damage, continued their deadly dogfight, unaware of how close both of them were to earth's gravitational field. Tak hit the afterburners on her ship and rammed into Krin. Both ships shook from the impact and eventually lost power to their engines altogether.

They would have floated freely through space had they not been so close to earth's gravitational pull. The hulls of both ships glowed bright red as they were sucked into the atmosphere.

_On the Massive_

Red and Purple watched one of the screens that showed Tak and the defect crash into the planet's atmosphere. One of Purple's antennas twitched, but otherwise neither Tallest showed any emotion. After a pause Red turned to the Control Brain.

"We've waited long enough", he said.

"Yeah", Purple agreed, "And we just lost one of our best pilots!"

The Control Brain was silent, then responded.

"Very well. Move the Armada towards the planet, start the invasion."

_Elsewhere on the Massive_

Shawn checked his GPS once again, making sure he wasn't lost. He passed several rooms and was approaching what he was somewhat certain was the bridge when a cold, metallic voice boomed through the speakers.

"_Attention all soldiers, this is the Control Brain. Get to your ships, the invasion has begun."_

"Fuck", Shawn muttered under his breath, "I've gotta hurry."

He walked through the large door in front of him and found himself on the Massive's bridge. Various Irkens were vigorously working at computers, most likely preparing the Massive to enter earth's atmosphere. In the center of the room on a large platform, was the Tallest themselves. They were both looking out at earth, so neither of them took notice of him.

The other Irkens on deck were too absorbed in their work to either notice or care about Shawn's presence. Using the advantage of not being noticed, Shawn walked along the walls of the bridge, concealed by the shadows. It wasn't that hard to find the Control Brain, it sat near the Tallest, on the same platform. It was large, roughly shaped like a giant PAK, and had an ominous air about it. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Shawn slowly took a step towards the Control Brain, followed by another step.

He reached the edge of his cover of shadows and took a deep breath before stepping out into the light. He searched the side of the Control Brain as he slowly walked forward and saw what looked like a small external access panel. Deciding that was a good place to start, Shawn quickened his pace slightly. He was so absorbed by his goal that he didn't notice the Tallest notice him, then glide over and stand behind him.

"SOLDIER", Red shouted, causing Shawn to jump from the surprise and turn around, "Mind telling us what you're doing?"

"Oh, w-w-well I w-was just-"

"Shouldn't you be aiding in the invasion", Purple asked, gesturing out the view screen at the ships headed for earth.

Shawn stood there silently, feeling both anxious and slightly embarrassed as he saw every Irken on deck watching him intently. He looked from the various Irkens, to the Tallests expecting faces. Finally, he took a step backwards, ripped the disguise generator off his wrist, and threw it to the Tallests feet. Both Tallest looked at the device, then the now human boy that stood before them. Purple was the first to recognize him.

"Well, well, well", he said, "That young outspoken human." Then he turned to the other Irkens on deck, "Call security to seize him."

"I don't think so", Shawn shouted. He quickly unzipped his jacket, revealing the device strapped to his chest. "It's a bomb! One wrong move from anyone and this whole place goes down!"

The Tallests looks of smugness and superiority were quickly replaced by terror. Neither one of them knew that what Shawn had stuck to his shirt was just an earth T.V. remote, nor did he intend to tell them. Shawn slowly continued backing up towards the Control Brain, his finger hovering carefully over one of the buttons on the remote. He kept his eyes so feverishly trained on the Tallest he didn't notice two of the Control Brain's tentacle arms slither down behind him.

"Foolish child", the Control Brain boomed, and then quickly wrapped its tentacles around Shawn's arms.

"NO", Shawn shouted, struggling to free his arms from the Control Brains grasp.

The Control Brain tightened its grip, and then another tentacle slithered down and clamped itself around Shawn's neck. Shawn gasped as the last bit of air was drained from him. He continued frantically kicking his legs while black started to edge into the rims of his vision. Eventually he fell to unconsciousness; the last thing he saw was the Tallest turn and face back out of the view screen.

**I know this chapter was pretty short, especially compared to the last one, but I wanted to build suspense. So as you all know, reviews are welcome, and I'll get the next chapter out ASAP**

**Also, in case anyone was wondering, I did some reading up on the Armada so I could accurately write about it, and found that it's made up mostly of Spittle Runners. Just thought I'd clear it up in case anyone didn't know and thought the Armada was made up mainly of Voot Cruisers**


	14. The Rivals

**I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and if it gets more than three reviews I'll prioritize the next chapter over my other story. Just like Invader Zim, I do not own the Narwhal Song**

His vision was blurry when he started to come to, but Zim could see that his Voot had crash landed in some sort of field. He felt the grass underneath him, but when he tried to roll over he felt a sharp, searing pain spike up his leg. He shrieked in pain and felt blood run from the corner of his mouth. He looked back at his left leg and saw it twisted at an awkward angle, the bone threatening to rip through the skin if put under too much pressure.

"GIR", Zim shouted weakly, "Where are you?"

"Over hear master."

Zim looked over to the source of the noise and saw his SIR unit's head poking out from the wreckage. Everything below the neck was obscured by the remains of his ship.

"I can't move GIR", Zim said, resting his head against the ground, "Can you get yourself free of the wreckage?"

"Sure", GIR responded, and then his body walked out from a different part of the wreckage, picked up his head, and screwed it back into place. "WEEEEEEEE", GIR shouted as his head spun into place on his body.

"Go for help. That Shawn-human's father, go to his lab, hurry."

GIR saluted, and then took off into the sky. Zim watched the tiny robot fly off; leaving a trail of smoke, then faced the ground again. The pain in his leg was intense, but if he could get somewhere safe his PAK should be able to heal the leg for him.

_Ryder Labs_

Professors Ryder and Membrane, Dib, Scott, and Taz sat in main lab of the building, hearing various explosions coming from outside. Professor Ryder assured everyone that the lab was well armored in case of a situation like a terrorist attack, so they all waited. The two professors were talking with the president and a military general about defense strategies, while Scott, Dib, and Taz sat a random work desk.

"I can't believe this", Dib moped, "The planet's under attack and I can't even do anything to help."

Scott face-palmed, "Kid, what are you, nine?"

"I'm eleven!"

"Whatever, the point is, you're too young to actually be out on the battlefield, hell I'm impressed that you actually know as much about these aliens as you do."

"I guess you're right", Dib sighed, "But I always thought, since I was the only one to really take the Irken threat seriously, that I would be the one leading the battle."

Scott simply shrugged in response and turned over to Taz. The little robot, which was usually very hyper and somewhat annoying, looked downright depressed. Scot guessed that he must be missing Shawn and Krin, those two were like the little guy's older siblings or something. Scott put his hand on Taz's metal shoulder and smiled encouragingly at them

"Don't worry little guy, they'll be coming back."

Just then, Professor Membrane's private comm link flashed from the image of the president to Zim's face.

"Zim", the professor said, startled by the sudden appearance of the alien's head, "How'd you get into my private comm channel?"

"_That's not important earth-science man"_, Zim replied, _"My ship has crashed and I can't move. I need you to send someone to get me to your location, immediately!"_

Professor Membrane nodded and exited the comm. Just as he turned around GIR burst into the room frantically. He was shouting a series of non sequitors, but everyone could get the gist of what he was saying. Basically, he was saying that he needed to lead someone to Zim to help him. Membrane was going to ask one Professor Ryder if someone should go help, but Dib was already heading for the door, pushing a medical gurney in front of him.

"SON", the professor shouted, reaching out for him with his arm, "What are you doing?"

"Going to help", Dib said flatly.

"But it's dangerous, you could get hurt."

Dib simply shrugged and kept walking, GIR right behind him. Membrane silently watched the door as his son walked out. He never thought his son was so willing to risk his life like this, how much of his son's maturing had the professor missed? Professor Ryder put a hand on his colleagues shoulder and gave him as comforting a smile as he could muster.

"They grow up pretty fast", he said.

_Zim's crashed Voot_

Zim closed the comm channel and breathed a sigh of relief. Good thing Membrane hadn't persisted about how Zim had contacted him; he didn't want to divulge that he could hack into the human communication base. He rested his head against the grass once more. GIR would be here with help soon, he could rest.

He had almost fallen asleep when a droning sound made him look up. Anxiety filled his squeedly-spooch when he saw a Spittle Runner hovering in front of him. The weapons on the ship warmed up, and Zim sat motionless, unable to run or fight back in any way. He asked the divine force the humans called 'God' for any sort of help, that was what the humans did when they were in trouble. At first he thought he had been wasting his time, but suddenly two other Spittle Runners fell from the sky and completely crushed the ship hovering in front of him. The two ships continued to ram the ground until they stopped further down the field.

_Inside Krin's cockpit_

Krin rolled onto her side and spat blood out of her mouth.

'Damn Tak', she thought.

She pressed a button on the damaged and sparking control panel that was supposed to open up the cockpit shield, but to no avail. She inspected the cockpit and found a break in the shield big enough for her hands. She slid both her hands into the crack and pushed upwards with all her might. The cockpit shield slid open and she climbed out into the field, she looked down at her gloved hands and found her fingers cut open by the sharp edges of the cockpit and covered with green Irken blood, though the wounds were already starting to heal.

She was distracted by the sound of another cockpit sliding open, and when her eyes followed the noise to its source she saw Tak climbing out of her ship. Tak looked over at Krin and their eyes met, exchanging deathly glares. Tak looked back to her ship and nodded at something inside before running towards Krin full speed. Krin instinctively started walking backwards. She and Tak had sparred before, so she was familiar with some of Tak's attack maneuvers.

What she didn't expect was for Tak to drop to the ground. She instinctively blocked her face, leaving her open for Tak to roll to her and kick her in the torso. Krin coughed and gripped her chest in pain, backing away again.

"Give it up", Tak said, getting up from the ground, "I'm an elite soldier, you're a former grunt soldier. Who do you think is going to be the one walking away from this?"

Krin wiped the blood from her mouth and cracked her knuckles, "Well let's just see then."

Tak smirked, and the two started walking towards each other. Krin brought out one of her PAK legs and swiped out with a wide sweep at Tak. Tak shot out one of her one PAK legs and locked it with Krin's. Krin was the first to make the next move; she withdrew her PAK leg, closed the gap between herself and Tak, and delivered a quick series of punches to Tak's chest area. Tak caught one of Krin's arms and twisted it into an arm lock. Krin struggled to get free, but Tak refused to let go.

"Just stop struggling", Tak spat in Krin's ear, "There's no way you can win anyhow."

"That's what you think", Krin said through gritted teeth, then opened up her PAK communicator. "Taz", she shouted, still fighting against Tak's grip, "I need help."

"_Yes, ma'am"_, his voice replied.

Krin, through a sudden burst of effort, pushed Tak slightly backwards and withdrew her arm from Tak's death grip. Tak regained her composure and aimed a kick at Krin's head. Krin used one of her arms to block Tak's leg, and then kicked Tak's other leg out from under her. Tak fell to the ground, and received a kick in the head for Krin. Tak rolled backwards, deployed all four PAK legs, and fired weak blast at Krin, who didn't have any time to dodge and received the full brunt of the attack.

Krin fell to her knees, weakened considerably from the attack, leaving her open for further assault. Tak withdrew her PAK legs and walked over to Krin calmly. She stood over Krin's gasping form with a look of mock sympathy, and then kicked Krin in the squeedly-spooch. Krin groaned as she clutched her lower torso and curled into a defensive ball. Tak knelt down and wrapped her fingers around Krin's neck, and then hoisted her into the air. Krin's eyes were closed and her breath came in ragged gasps.

"You know, Krin", Tak began, "You always were a good soldier, and I always thought the fact that you _chose_ to be a negotiator somewhat interesting. Such a shame that you couldn't just stay in line, you'd have been much better off."

Krin wheezed before she managed to choke out a response, "Better to…die now…then to be a…mindless slave." Then she mustered all the air she could and spat in Tak's face.

Tak's expression went completely emotionless as she wiped the spit from her face with her free hand. She looked into Krin's eyes and began to tighten her grip around Krin's neck. Krin inhaled as much air as she could before her ability to breathe was cut off. It wouldn't take long for Tak to completely crush the bones in Krin's neck, but part of her wanted to savor killing her old rival.

_Ryder labs, several minutes earlier_

Taz sat in a spiny chair turning back and forth, trying to will away the boredom that had settled over the room. He had been spinning for about fifteen minutes when he received an incoming transmission.

"_Taz, I need help."_

Taz recognized the voice immediately. He sprung into duty mode and saluted the air in front of him.

"Yes, ma'am", he shouted, and then rocketed right out of the lab and towards the source of the transmission.

As he flew he passed over Dib and GIR, who could only jog towards the field because of the medical gurney being pushed by Dib. Dib watched Taz fly off in the same direction they were headed, and instinctively quickened his pace.

_The field_

Tak's grip was dangerously tight, and Krin's had almost completely blacked out. Tak's emotionless face had transformed into malicious grin that spread ear to ear. She was just about done torturing the poor defect in front of her and began to tighten her grip even more, preparing to completely shatter Krin's neck. She was so caught up in the moment she didn't notice what might as well have been a tiny metallic missile streak right towards her.

Taz hit her full speed, forcing her to let go of Krin, and continued to ram her until the two collided with a tree. Taz grabbed Tak by the arm, turned, and flung her across the field. Tak spun through the air and finally hit the ground, landing several feet from her downed Spittle Runner. When she looked up she saw that her attacker turned out to be a SIR unit much like Zim's. In fact, she thought at first that it was Zim's robot, but this SIR was maintaining duty mode far longer than Zim's ever did. The robot landed in front of Krin's unconscious body and faced Tak, assuming a fighting pose.

"Primary objective", Taz said, "Protect Mistress Krin. Secondary objective, eliminate hostiles."

Tak got up and dusted herself off calmly, then turned to her ship.

"MIMI, ATTACK!"

From the wreckage came a black blur, which seemed to flash from point to point instantaneously before stopping in front of Tak. When the blur stopped it was revealed to be a black cat, though it spun in place and became MIMI, Tak's SIR unit. Taz analyzed the new threat, the SIR was obviously upgraded, the most easily to see being that added power claw, but he couldn't guess what other upgrades the robot contained.

"Threat analyzed", Taz said in an unfeeling tone, "Challenge accepted."

Taz deployed laser cannons from his arms and fired at MIMI, who dodged with little effort. The two stalked around each other in a wide circle, looking the other over for a tactical weakness. Taz found one in MIMI's un-upgraded arm. While the upgraded arm was a powerful threat, the other arm was a regular SIR arm, it even looked rusty and worn down. That would certainly be a good place to start.

Taz faked MIMI out by pretending to run right at her, then circled around and kicked at her rusty arm. The arm became loose and hung somewhat limp, but still remained in the socket. MIMI saw an opportunity in Taz's close proximity, and slammed her claw arm into his chest as hard as she could, and also pounded him into the ground. Taz grabbed at her rusty arm and pulled it loose, then began to whack it her with it, lacking any other option.

MIMI became poured holding Taz into the ground, and decided to attack him differently. She pulled him from the ground and threw him high into the air. As soon as Taz started falling he activated his jet feet, but he didn't realize he was playing into MIMI's plan. She, to, flew into the air and the two engaged in a fierce fist fight.

During all of this, Tak fell to one knee. That SIR unit's surprise attack had taken more out of her than she originally thought, so she could only rest. She spotted Krin's limp form across the field and clenched her teeth. Once she could move, she would finish the defect off.

Taz and MIMI, meanwhile, had somehow increased their height to a few hundred feet above the ground. Human jets and Spittle Runners flew by them, engaged in their own dogfights. Taz managed to knock MIMI backwards, and grabbed one of her legs and threw her into a Spittle Runner. The Runner exploded in a cloud of fire and bits of metal, but MIMI flew out of it relatively undamaged, despite still lacking her rusty arm.

MIMI rushed Taz with a serious of fake-out attacks, only actually hitting him a couple of times, before powering up her claw and delivering a vicious downward strike. Taz was unable to block the hit and sailed into the ground, making a large crater. The combined electrical overcharge of MIMI's hit and the impact of the ground deactivated duty mode, reverting Taz back to his immature, child-like regular mindset. He started to crawl out of the crater, but MIMI flew down and slammed both her feet into him. As she rammed him with her legs, MIMI also activated a recording Taz had stored in his memory banks

"_Narwhals, narwhals,_

_Swimming in the ocean,_

_Causing a commotion,_

'_Cause they are so awesome." _The recording sang. Taz giggled sheepishly, crawled out from under MIMI, and proceeded to sing along while doing a little jig.

"Narwhals, narwhals,

Swimming in the ocean,

Pretty big and pretty white,

They beat a polar bear in a fight."

This continued until Taz had completely sung through the entire Narwhal Song. MIMI stood there dumbfounded, but still keeping her guard. For all she knew this was some battle tactic she wasn't familiar with. After the recording ended Taz continued to dance for a little bit until he noticed MIMI standing there.

"Come on and dance", he said, ignoring the fact that she had almost destroyed him mere moments ago.

MIMI shook her head and took a step back. Taz ran up to her and grabbed her claw hand and started to do his jig again. MIMI tried to pull her claw free, but the SIR had an iron grip on it. She decided to give him a surge of electricity. The surge spiked from her claw throughout Taz's entire body and, unbeknownst to MIMI, also reactivated duty mode.

Taz glowed red and stopped dancing, but still didn't let go of MIMI. Instead, he raised one of his arms, balled his hand into a fist, and delivered a punch full of electricity right to MIMI's head. Taz let go of her after he did this and watched as she sparked and jolted awkwardly, then finally went dark and collapsed onto the ground. Taz, to, felt the after affects of the electricity, and reverted to his normal state. He lied down on the ground, lacking the energy to stand, and simply looked up at the sky smiling.

Tak saw this and had to bite her lip to keep herself from shouting a stream of curses in rage. How could that SIR have beaten MIMI? MIMI was more advanced actual Invader issue SIR's, that one was an outdated model anyway. Fueled by her anger, she stood up and began walking towards Krin. She stood over Krin's body, one of her PAK legs ready to strike the killing blow.

"This. Ends. NOW", she reared the leg back in preparation for the stab, but before she could she was hit by a powerful blast.

Tak fought to stay standing and looked to where the laser blast had come from. In front of a smoking and wrecked Voot, barely conscious and lying with his belly on the ground, was Zim. And his PAK legs were smoking. Tak's face went white with shock and the last bit of energy left her body. She fell backwards and collapsed onto the ground.

Zim breathed a sigh of relief at least that was one less threat to deal with. He allowed himself to relax and started to doze off.

"Zim", a voice called, waking Zim up.

Zim looked and saw Dib running towards him, pushing some kind of portable bed in front of him. Behind him GIR was also running towards his master. Dib reached Zim first and knelt down next to him, examining his broken leg. Surprisingly, the wound had already started to heal, that was a good sign.

"Is anything else broken", Dib asked as he prepared to load Zim onto the gurney.

"No", Zim responded, "But you sure did take your sweet time getting here, didn't you, dirt-child?"

"Would rather I didn't come at all Space Boy", Dib responded sarcastically as he put Zim onto the table, "I did have to push this gurney all the way here."

"Fine, fine, don't forget the defect and her SIR unit."

Zim pointed at Krin's unconscious form, then over to Taz. Dib went and checked on Krin while GIR grabbed Taz. GIR reached Taz first and, when he saw MIMI, he shrugged and threw her over his shoulder to. When Dib reached Krin he saw Tak and paused. There were a number of conflicting issues, the chief among them being that if he even wanted to save Tak, the gurney could fit two at most. Dib decided that he'd let Zim decide her fate.

"What do you think we should do with Tak", Dib asked as he placed Krin next to Zim on the gurney.

Zim was silent for a moment, "We could always use a prisoner that has a high position. Throw over your shoulder and carry her back with us."

Dib nodded in agreement and then walked back over to Tak. When he was walking he noticed the two crashed Spittle Runners. One of them looked very familiar, and that was when he remembered that Krin had 'borrowed' his ship. His shoulder slumped as he looked at the craft he had spent months upon months repairing, only to be reduced to smoldering pile of rubble. He sighed despondently and picked up Tak. He slowly walked the gurney back to Professor Ryder's lab, careful to make sure he didn't drop Tak or lose control of the gurney. GIR trailed close behind him, carrying Taz and MIMI over his shoulders.

High above them, the large scale air fight between jets and Spittle Runners was still raging. The battles seemed to be growing in distance from the ground, which was good because it meant less collateral damage to cities. The reason the fights were escalating in height, however, proved to be somewhat disturbing. The Massive had entered atmosphere, and was now hovering high above the city.

"They're going to start the organic sweep", Zim said, "And they want to start with the city I'm in."

"We'd better hurry and get to Professor Ryder and my dad", Dib said, looking up at the sky.

"Indeed. I hope that Shawn human knows what he's doing."

"He's a member of the Swollen Eyeball Network, and more importantly, he's a stargazer. He may as well have been training for this his whole life."

**So, love it? Hate it? This was one of those chapters that, for me, turned out really well. And I know some people might be thinking 'what about Shawn?' or 'what's going on onboard the Massive?' The reason I didn't show what's happening on the Massive is because this story has about 1-2 chapters left, and the parts on the Massive would flow better right into the ending.**

**Well, you know how much I like reviews, so keep on clicking away at that button down there.**


	15. Slaver or Freer?

"Is he alive?"

The voice sounded a thousand miles away, but Shawn could make it out as Tallest Red. Shawn didn't know where he was, an unknown amount of time spent unconscious.

"Yes, he is fine."

That voice, however, he didn't recognize at all. It had an odd mechanical sound to it, but also contained a strange, organic quality, punctuated by its deep booming tone.

"He came close. Had you not stopped him there's no telling what he might've done."

"You overestimate his chances, Tallest Red. It is true that, had I not constricted the boy, he might have had a better chance at attacking me, but he wouldn't' have done too much damage before I intervened. Though I must admit, the fact that he was able to get onto the Massive _and _infiltrate the bridge is cause for merit."

What were the voices talking about? Then it hit Shawn like a bucket of ice water. The invasion was underway, and his friends were counting on him to take down the Control Brain. With as much force as could be mustered, Shawn forced his eyes open and plastered his face with a determined glare.

"Not bad for a human, huh?" He said with a venomous tone.

Both Tallest gave him a strange look. It was then Shawn noticed he was still suspended in the air by the Control Brain's tentacles, although its grip had relaxed enough for him to breathe easily. Another thing Shawn noticed was a sharp pain emanating from his upper back. He struggled to look over his shoulder to see it, but to no avail.

"Hey", he said, addressing the Tallest, "What's this thing doing to me?"

"Patience, earthling." Tallest Purple replied, his voice unnaturally calm, "We mustn't spoil the surprise."

"How is our little surprise coming along by the way?" Tallest Red asked the Control Brain.

"The modifications you had the technicians made are working perfectly." The Control Brain replied, "With the modifications in place the boy's body should function within normal capacity, rather than being destroyed."

"Destroyed? What the hell is going on?"

The Tallest, however, turned a deaf ear to Shawn's questions. They both looked back out the screen and down at the town below them. The Massive had entered earth's atmosphere, and was now floating hundreds of feet above Professor Ryder's lab. Shawn was going to ask what was going on, but figured it would have no point. The pain in his back was sharpening; it almost felt like something was slowly being inserted into him.

"He's ready." The Control Brain suddenly boomed.

"Perfect." Red replied, him and Purple both turning back to the Control Brain, and then addressed Shawn, "Human child, prepare to be bent to our will."

Shawn raised an eyebrow. How exactly did they plan on bending him to their will? And what exactly did that have to do with the pain in his back.

"Yes", Purple continued, "Control Brain, activate his PAK."

Shawn's eyes suddenly shot open in alarm. They were implanting a PAK into him? Suddenly the pain increased intensely, and was accompanied with an electrical pulse that radiated throughout his entire body. The pain spiked to an unbearable point as he felt something stab into his back. Then he started seeing pictures, but they were pictures he didn't recognize.

There was a tall Irken standing before endless crowds of other Irkens. The screen behind the Tallest read 'The Universe Will Be Ours!' There was a blinding flash and Shawn saw what looked like a lab. In the wall were thousands upon thousands of test tubes with red sleeping faces on them. One of the faces flashed bright green and became a smiley. A robotic arm descended from above, took out the tube, and broke it open. A small Irken child fell from the tube and onto the ground, and the arm quickly attached a PAK to the back of the Irken, a smeet he knew for some reason, and gave it an electric shock.

There was another flash and the scene was replaced by one of alien soldiers on a battlefield. Lasers snaked out of their rifles and towards Irken soldiers advancing on their position. A blast from behind the Irkens flew into his field of vision and struck the ground with a resounding _bang_. When the dust settled the only thing left where the blast had struck was a crater and a few charred alien bodies.

Another flash revealed the same planet, only now a group of Irken soldiers was standing a few dozen feet in front of a pile of burning bodies. In the distance, what looked like a multitude of restaurants and shops was being built. A sign next to the Irkens proudly proclaimed 'Welcome to FoodCourtia!'

The flash returned and Tallest Red and Purple were announcing something to yet another large crowd of Irkens. Something was pushing its way through the crowd and towards the raised platform the Tallest and several other Irkens were standing on. A hand suddenly shot up from right in front of the stage and Zim crawled up to face the Tallest. The Tallest and Zim conversed for a time, the Tallest obviously displeased with Zim's presence. After a while the Tallest pointed to a slip of paper on a map of the universe. Zim smiled devilishly at the paper and walked off proudly to join the other Irkens onstage.

The pain stopped after that, and Shawn was back on the bridge of the Massive, gasping for as much air as his lungs could get. The Control Brain's tentacles retracted, leaving Shawn hanging in the air by the lone tentacle connected to his PAK. Shawn tried to lift his arms to his head, but found his movements sluggish. He looked up at the Tallest, and his vision blurred from the movement.

'Well child', said the booming voice of the Control Brain, 'I didn't expect your mind to accept the whole Irken history so easily. You truly must be unique among your race."

Shawn looked around the room, his vision still blurry. The Tallest didn't react to the Control Brain's words, almost like they hadn't heard it speak. Then Shawn realized the Control Brain was speaking to him in his mind. The voice was followed by an odd sense of violation. Shawn couldn't describe it, but it felt like the Control Brain was sifting through his head.

Then Shawn figured out what the Control Brain was doing, it was infiltrating his mind to try and overtake it. With a great effort, Shawn mentally fought against the Control Brain. He sent rapid bursts of thought at it to keep it from asserting control over his brain.

'Your attempts are valiant, but futile.' the Control Brain deadpanned, 'I can usurp my control over countless Irkens, what makes you any different?'

Shawn continued his mental struggle, trying his best to not think about the fact that he was fighting a losing fight. He was so caught up in his stream of thoughts that he almost missed something. It was faint, but he found the information on the PAK that the Control Brain had grafted to his spine.

Apparently it had belonged to a defective soldier that had been deactivated. They had given him a defective PAK? That didn't seem right, although as he continued to quickly sift through the information it became clear. The Tallest asked for a defective PAK specifically because they figured it would easier to adjust to fit his body chemistry.

This knowledge also opened the door of another memory. The familiar flash returned and he was still on the Massive, but he saw his body suspended in the air by the Control Brain's tentacles. The Tallest watched as the Control Brain used two of its free tentacles to slowly drill two small holes in Shawn's back.

"_I'm a bit concerned"_, the Control Brain said to the Tallest, _"While using a defective PAK is a good way to ensure the boys survival, you must remember he does possess a strong mind. If for some reason he gains knowledge of my weakness from the defect fast food drone Zim's existence evaluation it won't be too hard for him to mentally overpower me."_

Red waved a hand in the air dismissively, _"You worry too much. No matter how smart he is he's still human, there's really no way he could overpower you."_

"_Be that as it may, my concern remains. His mind is the reason you wanted to give him a PAK implant."_

Shawn's mind returned to his body, but took the great revelation with it. The Control Brain was weak, but it was making him _think_ it was strong by filling his mind with thoughts of its conquest. Now that he knew the truth, however, the infiltrating presence of the Control Brain no longer threatened him. It was a different kind of feeling, he felt…stronger somehow. With an effort he didn't know he had, he mentally seized the Control Brain and began to sift through the machine's 'brain', effectively flipping the tables.

'Come on', Shawn thought to himself, 'There's got to be a self-destruct order or something in here.'

'CHILD, STOP THIS AT ONCE!' The Control Brain sounded furious, but above all, frightened, 'You don't want to do that.'

'And why not?' Shawn asked sarcastically, still searching through the Control Brain.

'I have defeated fleets of thousands! I am a conqueror of worlds! If you were to join forces with me no one would stand in our way.'

'Sorry, but I'm not looking to be your pawn.'

'You misunderstand me, child. The Tallest are my pawns, forever under my control. You, however, are able to break that control. You are a being with a strong mind. Stand by my side as my equal, and no force in the universe will triumph over us.'

Shawn mentally scoffed; he wasn't some corrupt politician to grab at power the second it was offered. The Control Brain knew this, and decided on another tactic. Using some of the boy's memories that he had already seen, the Control Brain created a series of 'visions' he would show the boy to encourage him to join the Empire.

The same flash temporarily blinded Shawn, but when his eyesight returned he saw a vision that wasn't taken from Irken history.

A figure stood atop a raised platform, wearing a black cloak that went down to its knees with the hood shrouding its face. The Control Brain was behind the figure, but its shimmering appearance revealed it to be a simple hologram. Before the platform stood an endless crowd of various races, Shawn saw humans and Irkens among them. The figure crossed its arms before turning to the hologram of the Control Brain. The two seemed to exchange words, and then the figure turned to face the crowd.

The figure raised its arms, and something in Shawn's mind told him it was making a proclamation of some sort. A giant screen behind the figure flared to life, with the Irken logo and the words _Irken Empire_ written underneath it. The figure crossed his arms, and immediately the Irken logo and words disappeared from the screen. In their place, the words _Empire of United Planets_ appeared. The crowd roared in feverish approval. The figure reached up and gripped its hood with both hands. It pulled the hood back to reveal a face Shawn knew.

It was him.

The figure was aged, probably in his mid-twenties, but Shawn recognized his own face with little difficulty. It was then that Shawn no longer viewed the scene as an invisible passive observer, but from his older self's point of view. He felt as though he were there, he felt the slightly chilly air that indicated night, he smelt the sterile tinge, which indicated a planet that the Armada had performed the organic sweep on, and he recognized every alien race present in the crowd. What he felt most, however, was a sense of power. The crowds were cheering for this new empire, and for him.

The flash returned and Shawn once again viewed things out of body. He saw himself meeting with what he knew were leaders of other races, writing on a treaty that would sign the freedom of their races away to Shawn. Then he saw himself and the Control Brain on the bridge of the Massive, watching as a planet below them burned from the organic sweep. In his moment of vulnerability, Shawn let the Control Brain seep back into his mind and search through his thoughts. Shawn suddenly saw his younger self, back when he was in middle skool, being beaten by Isaac and his three friends. Shawn watched in horror and pity as the four boys turned and left the alley, leaving a bruised and bleeding Shawn to try and use a trash can to hoist him up and limp out of the alley, trying to look as dignified as possible.

Shawn turned away, unable to watch any more. The bruises he'd gotten that day had healed, but the emotional scarring hadn't. That day was the day he decided to only trust people when they proved they deserved it, people like Scott or Alison. After the memory ended a voice echoed through his mind.

"_It's like I'm everybody's favorite nobody."_

The words reverberated through Shawn's skull, and after a few seconds the knowledge of how much power was laid out in front of him sunk in. He could finally be somebody. He could tear the Irkens from their place of power and rule his own way. He was fully entranced by the thoughts, and he considered accepting the Control Brain's offer.

"_Don't do it." _A voice spoke in his mind.

It was soft, barely audible, but had a sense of strength to it.

"_The Control Brain can't be trusted. It seems like the opportunity of a lifetime, but you'll be nothing more than a tool for destruction."_

"_Who are you?" _Shawn asked.

"_My name is not a matter of importance, but I am what remains of the Irken that previously wore the PAK you now possess."_

"_How are you still alive? If I'm wearing your PAK, then you must have been deactivated."_

"_That's the thing, I'm not alive. A PAK holds an Irken's consciousness, their being, and their very soul. After a defect is deactivated, much of their being is lost in the process, but not all of it. Usually when the PAK is repaired and given to a new Irken their personality would destroy the previous Irken's, but you're different. But none of that makes a difference now; you mustn't allow yourself to listen to the Control Brain, more free species will suffer for it."_

Shawn was silent, all the possibilities running through his mind. The Control Brain was offering him power, control, and a chance to be respected and feared by thousands. However, this nameless voice reminded him why he was on the Massive in the first place. He was here because he wanted to stop universal conquest in its tracks, and he couldn't do that if he was the one instigating it.

"_That voice is what remains of a flawed mind."_ The Control Brain whispered into Shawn's ear, _"To take its advice to heart would be a foolish choice on your part."_

Shawn still remained silent, both options bouncing back and forth in his mind. Did he choose to be a powerful tyrant? Or did he finish what he came here to start and then go back to being a worthless no one? As his head continued to throb from the multiple consciousnesses present, more images showed themselves to Shawn.

The first was of him and Scott at Locals Only, the first day they met. The next image was Shawn and Alison sitting in class. Alison nonchalantly slipped a piece of paper, one of her sketches, to Shawn, who looked over it with interest. Again the flash and Shawn saw himself standing in front of Scott and Alison, who were sitting on his couch. In front of his T.V. was a portable chalkboard with drawings of Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, and aliens. Scott and Alison watched with looks of mixed amusement and wonder as Shawn gave an extensive speech about the paranormal, from conclusive, undeniable evidence, to the time he was certain he'd almost caught a sea monster in a lake near their town.

At the end of his speech, Shawn flipped the chalkboard over to the other side, which bore a large drawing of the Swollen Eyeball Network logo. Shawn read his own lips as he explained what the Network was, as well as the many times he reminded Scott and Alison that they needed to keep it secret.

The flash replaced the memory with the first time Shawn met Krin, which turned into a stream of memories of moments the two had shared. Soon the memories became visions of the future. He saw himself, again in his mid-twenties, but he wasn't instigating conquest. He sat in a hospital waiting room, anxiety written all over his face. After a short while, a doctor came out. The two exchanged words and Shawn's look turned from anxiety to hopelessness. He followed the doctor into one of the rooms, where Professor Ryder was laying on a hospital bed, a number of machines plugged into his arms.

The professor's face looked weak, he was close to death. Shawn was immediately at his father's side, desperation etched into his features. From younger Shawn's passive observance, he couldn't hear any words spoken, but he saw his father's calm face as he assured his son he was ready. Shawn nodded, tears welling up in his eyes. Then, younger Shawn heard his dying father's voice.

"Son", the professor said, his voice was raspy, but still carried its usual air of authority, "My whole life I've dedicated myself to helping mankind. When I married your mother, and when you were born, I felt closer to what I was doing. After you two came into my life I felt like I was working to make sure you could have a better life. That's the only thing I've ever wanted for you. And now, as I lay ready to die, I ask only that you carry on my legacy. It doesn't matter what form of science you've pledged yourself to, I only ask that you work to help humanity."

Shawn found himself unable to form words; all he could offer was another meek nod. He understood his father's wishes, and he was ready to fulfill them. Professor Ryder smiled, then closed his eyes, and gave himself to death. Shawn stood there for a while, trying to cope with the death of his father.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ryder", the doctor said, placing a hand on Shawn's shoulder, "But the ambulance couldn't get him here quick enough."

"It's alright", Shawn replied, "At least he died knowing I won't ever let him be forgotten."

The vision ended as quickly as it started, and Shawn was once again on the Massive. He wasn't sure if his own mind had conjured up those images he saw, or if the Irken soul living in his PAK had managed to do it. All he knew for certain was that his head was killing him, and he had a choice to make that would shape the fate of the universe, and himself.

"_No more interference", _he thought, blocking both voices from his mind, _"It's time that _I _made a choice."_

But what would his choice be? Would he be a conqueror or a redeemer? A slaver or a freer? The images of himself before the massive crowd of races as a ruler, and himself standing in the hospital room with his dying dad, assuring him Shawn would carry on his legacy, bounced back and forth through his mind. He finally managed to settle on his choice. In the end, it wasn't too hard to make.

**And end scene. I know, I'm a being of pure evil for coming back from that unannounced break and throwing this cliffhanger in your face, but isn't the suspense awesome? Anyway, you all know how much I love them reviews, so show me a little love and click the crap outta that button. Alright, see ya readers.**


	16. What Heroes Do

**Before I say anything, I would like to offer my humblest apologies for the lateness of this chapter. There's been lots of crap hitting the fan and I've been doing everything I can to get this chapter out ASAP**

**I want to give a special apology to my loyal reader ServanttotheTallest, whom I promised this chapter to months ago.**

**Well, I guess that's enough groveling, on with the next chapter.**

"_Alright Control Brain"_, Shawn thought calmly, _"You've got a deal. Together we'll rule the universe."_

"_A wise decision, child." _The Control Brain replied in its usual monotone voice, though there was a hint of victorious superiority in it.

Shawn let the slightest smirk cross his face, and his mind slowly filled with visions of conquest. If he was going to sell his deception, the Control Brain had to believe his intentions were to work with the Irken Empire, not against it. Slowly, the two entities filled each other's minds, one searching through the other's consciousness, drinking in the information.

"The time has come." The Control Brain boomed, gaining the attention of the Tallest, "Begin the organic sweep when ready."

The Tallest looked at each other and then nodded to the Control Brain. "You heard him", Red shouted to the Irkens on deck, "Fire the first cannon sweep, and let's get this planet burning."

"Not so fast."

The voice sounded like it came from the Control Brain, but it also sounded like it had been mixed with another voice. Everyone present turned towards the Control Brain and saw Shawn still suspended in the air. His eyes were now glowing the same dark red as the Control Brain, and a devious smile had spread across his face.

"I don't think an organic sweep will be necessary." The words came from Shawn's mouth, but it seemed like the Control Brain was talking at the same time. After seeing all the blank and shocked looks of the Irkens in the room, Shawn let out a sigh. "Strange, such a powerful race, and yet the key to your total success is the surrender of your will to a computer. …Since none of you seemed to figure it out, I've taken control of that computer." He gestured to the Control Brain and, as if to solidify his point, the Control Brain slowly lowered him to the ground.

Both Tallest turned to the Irkens sitting at the ship controls. "Quick call sec-" the order was interrupted as both Tallest grabbed their heads and crouched forward in pain. Before anyone else could react they grabbed their heads too. Shawn smiled, his plan was working perfectly.

"_Step one"_, he thought to himself, _"eliminate the Control Brain. Check. Step two, incapacitate Irkens on the bridge." _He paused and scanned the room with his eyes. All of the Irkens were either passed out or on the ground clutching their heads in pain. _"Check. Now for step three."_

Shawn used the Control Brain's tentacle arm, still connected to his PAK, to move him to face out the front screen. Human and Irken ships zoomed past, and hundreds of miles down he could see his dad's lab. He paused as he thought about his dad. The vision of Professor Ryder's death was still fresh in his mind, but he managed to will it away, there was still work to be done.

"Attention all Irkens," Shawn said, using the Control Brain to transmit the message, "You are ordered to break off from the invasion and return to your flagships. I repeat, return to your flagships immediately." While transmitting the message, Shawn came across Zim's PAK signal, which they had forgotten to disable. He made sure Zim heard the message, but that he wouldn't be forced to comply with it.

"_What…are you…doing?" _the Control Brain asked, the force it was exerting to just to speak evident, _"I thought…we were at an agreement."_

"_Well here's the news"_, Shawn replied, _"Earth isn't some trinket to be added to your empire. And I'm not some corrupt politician to be tainted by power."_ As Shawn finished talking he found what he was looking for: the Control Brain's permanent shutdown function. _"Time we ended this."_

_Ryder Labs, Medical Research Wing_

The Ryder Labs Medical Wing took up about a third of the already large building, and closely resembled a hospital's ICU. Whenever a local hospital found themselves with an abundance of patients, Professor Ryder offered to let them transfer their more serious patients to his medical department to be looked after. As such, the Medical Wing was always well stocked and was in practice both a place for medical research and also a working hospital.

Now, the Medical Wing was gripped with chaos and panic. Lab assistants and volunteers quickly wheeled patients on stretchers into rooms to be treated, and the sounds of flat lines and yells of "CLEAR!" could be heard as doctors worked furiously to keep the people who had been caught in the wreckage from the dogfights outside alive. Professor Ryder and Professor Membrane both sprinted from one room to another, doing their best to give as much help as they could to each patient.

Suddenly, the doors burst open and Dib made his way inside, pushing the gurney with Zim and Krin on it in front of him, and with Tak slung over his shoulder, while GIR trailer behind him, carrying Taz and MiMi. Dib pushed the gurney through the chaos with an unthinkable sense of calm, regarding the shouts and people running around frantically as something he had been mentally preparing for. Seeing the telltale spike of his dad's hair over the crowd, Dib hastily pushed the gurney in that direction.

"Dad" he shouted, and he was relieved when the spike stopped moving away.

When the two got close enough to make eye contact, or, well, goggles in Professor Membrane's case, Dib could've sworn his dad physically relaxed a little bit.

"Son" the Professor started, "I'm so pleased to see that you're alright, and that you've found your little foreign friend."

Dib sighed slightly at the reference to Zim as his "foreign friend". Well, old habits die hard. "Yeah dad, but they all need rooms, and quick." Professor Membrane nodded and started to lead Dib to a row of three empty rooms.

The two quickly went about setting the three Irkens in each of the separate beds. Then, at Zim's encouragement, they secured Tak in a strait jacket and tied her to her bed for good measure. You could never be too careful with crazy chicks. After they had finished the professor ran a hand through his hair and let out a long sigh. Despite being a well distinguished and powerful scientist, he was still human, and running around treating injured people during an alien invasion for a few straight hours wasn't good for one's health. At the thought of the invasion he glanced at his son through his goggles. He guessed there were a few things that needed saying between the two, and now was as good a time as ever.

"Son…"

Dib looked sideways at the sound of his father's voice, head cocking slightly in curiosity.

"PROFESSOR!"

The shout of a random lab assistant interrupted the professor's train of thought.

"This woman's about to bleed out and we need your help to stabilize her."

The professor huffed in frustration, but started towards the door. He took a minute to pause and looked back at Dib. "I need to talk with you later, it's important." And with that, the professor followed the lab assistant out, chastising him for his inability to stabilize a patient bleeding to death.

Dib stood still for a minute after his dad left, his curiosity only increasing with the cryptic statement his father had left him. It took Zim calling to Dib from his room to return the boy to reality.

"Yeah Zim?" Dib asked as he made his way to the Irken's room.

"It's strange" Zim said, eyeing Dib suspiciously, "All these people finally see everything you've been telling them, and yet you're not out there bouncing off the walls of the room, yelling like some hideous primate that you told them so."

Dib could only shrug his shoulders. To tell the truth, he had no idea why he wasn't rubbing in the fact that he was right.

"…You earthlings are some strange creatures. If I were in _your_ position, I'd let them ALL know how right I was. How the mighty ZIM- err, mighty DIB in this case- was right along. And I'd force them to bow down before, my superior human brain meats that I kept inside my giant, oversized-"

Zim stopped mid-sentence, and his eyes instantly focused on something in the distance. Dib raised an eyebrow as one of Zim's antennae twitched. Then, as soon as he had zoned out, Zim came right back to the real world. He caught Dib's stare and simply said "You won't believe this."

_Back on the Massive_

Shawn stood firmly on the ground facing the Control Brain. The tentacle was still implanted in his PAK, keeping his connection to the Control Brain going. Every muscle in his body was tensed, and he stared into the largest 'eye' on the Control Brain's 'face'. While it looked like the two were having an intense staring contest, they were in fact still engaged in a battle of minds. Shawn desperately tried to maintain his control, but every second the balance of power shifted one way or the other.

But how had the Control Brain managed to come back after Shawn had suppressed it? Shawn thought he had it beaten! Well, turns out it would take more than a moment of deception and mental fortitude to beat the Brain, and Shawn found himself still searching for an advantage. Said advantage through some outside box thinking on Shawn's part.

Taking advantage of the Control Brain's total attention being on fighting Shawn, the boy used the connection via the tentacle to control one of the other many tentacles at the Brain's disposal. Acting before the Control Brain could react, Shawn brought the tentacle down on the Control Brain, impaling it in one of its 'eyes'.

A screech of pain erupted from the Brain, and Shawn acted on the opportunity. He quickly disabled the part of the Control Brain that controlled the Irken race, setting the race free with a single thought. He then searched for the self-destruct protocol, but the Brain had already recovered and focused its defenses back on blocking Shawn out. Out of the corner of Shawn's eye, the Tallest had already started to move onto their knees, surveying the control room with foggy eyes.

"_Two can play at that game, child."_

Suddenly, Shawn's hand started to shoot towards his throat. Shawn caught his arm and tried desperately to fight of the Control Brain. With a great effort, Shawn pushed his arm away. The Control Brain seemed unimpressed by this display, and chuckled malevolently. A different tentacle coiled up in the air, looking like a snake preparing to strike.

"_Well, I may not be able to control your will, but my own remains well beyond your grasp as well. It saddens me that it has come to this, boy, but it seems that if you will not join me, I'll have no choice but to put you down."_ The tentacle's claw snapped open, making the appendage appear more menacing. _"I had hoped that my initial impression of you that I gleaned from your memories was wrong, but it seems that the rest of your planet was right about you: You are nothing, child. Nothing! You were too weak to defeat me, and too stupid to join me, and now, all you can do is to die."_

The words burning into his mind, Shawn did nothing but close his eyes and exhale, waiting. The tentacle lashed out with the ferocity of the snake it mimicked, racing though the air toward Shawn. The claw opened as far as it physically could, eager to clasp onto Shawn's skull. Acting on impulse, Shawn's eyes snapped open, and the tentacle stopped dead in the air, half a foot short of Shawn's head. The desperate look that was in Shawn's eyes before was gone, replaced by a grim, determined stare that dared anything in the universe to challenge him.

Slowly, the tentacle turned to face its owner. One of Shawn's eyebrows raised and the tentacle shot out again, this time heading straight for the Brain. The sound of metal crashing against metal echoed through the bridge as the tentacle punched through one of the Control Brain's eyes. Sparks flew from the Brain, and after a few seconds the tentacle ripped out a claw full of wires. Through all this, Shawn remained silent. No mocking laughter, no final words about a long overdue retribution, not even a word about himself. In the end, the Control Brain hadn't earned any of those things.

Finally, the Brain ceased sparking and the lights in its eyes went out. Shawn exhaled in relief and detached the tentacle from his PAK. He turned around to see the Tallest rising to their feet, Red looking in his direction with curiosity. Shawn took a calm step forward; his work wasn't done just yet.

_On Earth_

Dib sat in a chair next to Krin's bed. She was still asleep, but it seemed was going to wake at any moment. In the room to his left, Tak thrashed about in her bed, desperately trying to escape. Two lab aids stood near her, each armed with a taser. To his right, Zim lay calmly in his bed and flipped through the channels on the TV, looking for-and failing to find- something that wasn't news about the invasion.

Absent-mindedly fiddling with the lining of his trusty jacket, Dib listened to the shouts coming from outside the room. The sounds were quickly melding into white noise as he considered Zim's question. Why wasn't he seeking some kind of recognition for being right about aliens? The more he thought about it, the more his mind kept thinking over the past couple of days. A month ago, he thought all Irkens were power hungry conquerors. Now, he knew that they truly were slaves of their own conquest, and that not all of them were total psychopaths.

He glanced down at Krin when he considered that last thought. True, he initially tried to convince Shawn to turn her in to the Eyeballs, but now he was convinced that would have been a terrible mistake. Aside from her actually having an agreeable personality, she and Zim were able to supply a great amount of knowledge on the Irken fleet. And besides, she had to be alright if Shawn could fall for her so easily, and believe me, it was pretty obvious, or at least obvious enough for Dib to figure it out.

Speaking of Krin, the Irken was just now showing signs of waking up. "Glad to see you awake." Dib said after her eyes opened up. She was silent, and she still looked sleepy, taking a second to remember what had happened before she blacked out.

"Where am I?" Krin asked, just now starting to survey her surroundings.

"Professor Ryder's lab." Dib answered, "I brought you, Zim, and Tak here after I found the three of you unconscious."

Krin's eyes shot open as wide as they could. "Tak? You brought that psychopath here? Why on Irk would you do that?"

"Hey, just relax for a second. Zim thought it'd be a good idea to have a prisoner with a high status and frankly, I thought it was a good idea."

Krin remained tense, that is, until she heard the sound of Tak's voice. She looked past Dib and into Tak's room. The sight of Tak in a strait jacket, tied to a bed, with two grown men with tasers keeping guard, served good enough to convince Krin to relax slightly. There was still something else on her mind, though.

"Any news about Shawn?"

Dib drew in a deep breath, ready to start explaining. The news he'd gotten from Zim, that Shawn had managed to order the entire Irken Armada to fall back to retreat, was definitely good news. He still wondered just how Shawn managed to pull something like that off, but for now he was just glad that Shawn was able to do it. Oh yeah, he'd gotten so distracted with his reflecting that he totally forgot that he was supposed to be telling Krin all of this. It probably made for some epic dramatic pause though. Ok, now he's actually gonna tell her, and nothing's gonna st-

"THEY'RE RETREATING!"

The voice, loud and commanding, cut through all the noise in the Medical Wing, simultaneously capturing everyone's attention. This included Krin and Dib, who looked for the voices source, finding Professor Membrane and Professor Ryder standing on a desk above everyone else. Zim ignored the two scientists, already knowing what they were going to say.

"As my colleague has just said", Professor Ryder spoke up, "We have just received a report from several army generals that the alien fleet has been falling back into outer space. We have no conclusive reason as to why, but they have not been appearing to mobilize any sort of weapons of mass destruction. For now, we can assume that we are all safe."

Silence hung over the room, but it only lasted a few seconds before the cheering started. Everyone shouted in a joyous fashion, waving their hands and hugging each other at the news of the victory. Soon the celebration died down, and people returned to their duties, but the happy mood remained, replacing he somberness that had preceded it.

During all of this, Professor Ryder turned his eyes towards the ceiling, trying to gaze through it and into the sky beyond. Professor Membrane was no psychologist, although he did have a license to act as one, but it was obvious his colleague was concerned about his son. Professor Ryder's expression was pretty much the equivalent of asking "where are you, Shawn?" Unfortunately, that was one of the very few questions Membrane didn't have the answer too.

_Massive Control Room_

"So you see", Shawn said as he and the Tallest, as well as all other Irkens in the room, looked at the screen that Shawn extended from his Pak, "Your race wasn't always the harsh conquerors that you are now."

The screen he showed was actually a clip from Irken history that was hidden inside the Control Brain. Shawn managed to steal it, as well as the rest of Irken history, during his fight with the Brain. It wasn't like he'd just come out of that battle without any loot to show for it. The particular scene he was playing was from countless millennia ago, showing a fledgling Irken race's first leader making peace treaties with other races.

The scenes continued in a sort of slideshow not unlike the one the Control Brain had forced Shawn to watch, but with a slight difference. These scenes all showed Irkens working alongside other races. Other species visiting Irk, either for diplomatic purposes or otherwise, played before the Tallest's eyes, filling them both with confusion and curiosity. Irkens living or visiting other planets also played, followed by various races fighting alongside Irkens in wars that the Tallest couldn't remember no matter how hard they tried. The slideshow finally ended with a single Irken working on a giant circular computer, obviously the Control Brain. The Irken finished their work, and the Brain hummed to life with the same menacing red glow that Shawn had just extinguished moments earlier.

"It just doesn't add up." Tallest Red said as the screen faded to black, "You say all of this came from the Control Brain, and yet I can't remember any of it. And besides that, the fact that I'm even hearing you out right now is just as strange."

"Yeah", Purple added, "normally I'd be ordering a squad of security drones to be blasting you right where you're standing."

"Well for starters, you don't remember any of those things because the Control Brain more than likely blocked them out. That seems to make sense, since it wouldn't the Irken race to know about their peaceful past. That's bad for your image as conquerors. As for why you're listening to me, that's because you're no longer under the Control Brain's influence. You aren't really as ruthless as the damn thing made you think you were."

The Tallest looked a bit disappointed about that last comment. They liked to believe they were powerful leaders, who commanded the ultimate respect of their race.

"Oh, don't get me wrong", Shawn said quickly, "I'm sure you're still quite powerful, and that you rule with iron fists, but you're just not as sadistic deep down."

The Tallest seemed content with that. Red floated a little closer to Shawn and did something that shocked everyone in the room. He bowed. It was a slight bow, mind you; just a sign of earned respect, but a bow was still a bow. "Well, earthling, you have my thanks, or rather, our thanks." He jabbed Purple in the squeedly-spooch, then motioned for the other Tallest to offer a slight bow just like he did.

Purple nodded, and then took over the speech. "You've managed to open the eyes of an entire race in a small amount of time, but now the single important question remains: what do we do now?"

Shawn was taken aback when he realized that the Tallest were asking him for advice. "Well, I was trying to inspire you to take the Irken race to its roots as a peaceful race, but that seems like it'll be a bit of a big jump to make. I'd start with making the races under your control, feel less enslaved, and make them feel more like equals."

Both Tallest were feverishly taking notes on holopads.

"In time you'll have to completely let the other races go free, and you'll want to move the Armada back to Irk at the same time. Also, at least attempt to make peace with some of these other races at the same time. I read something about 'The Resisty' when I was skimming through the Control Brain's files, that'd be a good place to start."

Red groaned at the thought of dealing with Lard Nar, but seemed to give the idea good consideration at the same time.

"As for right now, I'd suggest the three of us, with a few security drones of course, go down to earth and apologize for this big mess. Consider it the first step in righting the wrongs done by the Control Brain, and the first peace treaty you make."

The Tallest looked at each other, then back to Shawn. This would be the first time they ever met with a race they tried to attack immediately after an invasion. After a few seconds of quiet contemplation, they nodded their heads in agreement.

"Good, just let me make a call first."

_Earth, obviously. I mean, where else would we be going?_

Professor Membrane's shoulder comm flashed, and the professor expected it to be either another general or the president. He was surprised when he was met with Shawn's face on the other end of the comm.

"Mr. Ryder? Now you're somehow contacting me? What is this, hack into a famous and powerful scientist's private comm channel day?"

"Good to see you too, professor." Shawn said, "Is my dad there with you? I need to talk to the both of you."

Membrane nodded and motioned to one Professor Ryder to join him. When the other professor had arrived his face softened at the sight of his son.

"Shawn! Thank God you're alright. Where are you?"

"Calm down, dad. I'm still on the Massive, but pretty soon the Tallest and I are gonna come down to earth. I need the both of you to arrange for the president, with his security, and the two of you to meet us at town hall in an hour. Can I count on you?"

The professors looked at each other. Membrane seemed skeptical about this plan, but Ryder looked to want nothing but to trust in what his son was saying. Shawn picked up on all of this, and quickly thought of a way to reaffirm the trust of both men. He motioned off screen, and after a second both Tallest appeared behind him.

"Dad, Professor Membrane, I'd like you to meet Tallest Red and Tallest Purple. They're the leaders of the Irken race."

Both Tallest waved at the professors, who in turn waved back, albeit with somewhat confused expressions.

"Now I know this seems to be happening really quickly, but I need you to trust me. The Tallest want to formally apologize for all of this and we both agree them meeting the president would be a great show of good faith. They can explain everything to everyone when they get down here."

Again the two professors exchanged glances. Membrane seemed to be warming up to the idea, and with a nod of both of their heads, the professors agreed to the meeting.

"Alright, make sure it's televised worldwide. Everyone around the world needs to know about what's going on."

Then Shawn was gone, leaving the professors with the sounds of lab assistants and doctors bustling around the room. Membrane opened his comm again and prepared to set up a message to the president, but there was still something he couldn't quite wrap his mind around.

"…Do they really designate the rulers of their race by how tall they are?"

Professor Ryder paused; contemplating the question, then gave the only logical response he could think of.

"Alien cultures sure are weird."

_Several hours later, Town Hall_

The Irken ship carrying Shawn, the Tallest, and three security drones just landed a few meters from the makeshift stage that a few volunteers had set up a half hour earlier. Shawn stood next to the door of the ship, his leather jacket covering his PAK. It was best his dad learned about what the Control Brain had done to him later, after peace talks were over. The Tallest stood behind him, feeling uncharacteristically anxious, though they wouldn't admit it.

After seeing the president's limo drive up, and the president get out and start walking toward the stage, Shawn decided it was the best time to head out as well. The Tallest followed, along with their security drones, and the small party made its way to the stage. The president and his secret service made their way up the steps at the same time as the Tallest and their security drones, and Shawn had to fight back laughing about there being some kind of symbolism in the event.

Stealing a glance towards a growing crowd coming to watch the spectacle, Shawn saw that, while additional secret service was holding the large crowd back, a small group was inside the perimeter. This group was made up of none other than Dib, Zim and Krin (who were both on crutches), Scott, Alison, Taz, GIR, and the two professors. Shawn caught each of their eyes and shot them all a smile before turning his attention back to the events on the stage.

When the Tallest and the president met in the center of the stage, there was total silence. The secret service and security drones watched each other with impassive faces, but each one seemed to have an understanding for each other. They were both there to ensure the safety of their leaders; they had that much in common. Finally, Red decided to get the ball rolling.

"Earth president", he began calmly, "My co-ruler and I would like to offer our humblest apologies for this inappropriate violation of your home world. While there is nothing to change what has already been done, we would like to try and make amends for our actions. To leave a better memory of today than the invasion of your world."

Shawn was a bit surprised at Red's words. For someone who wasn't used to negotiating on peaceful terms that aren't about conquest, he seemed to be doing rather well for himself. The thought occurred that Red had been practicing what to say on their way to earth.

"We would like to offer a peace between our people and yours. And as a show of this goodwill, we would like to offer some of our people helping you repair the damages we have done to your planet."

The president, usually so zany and eccentric, looked quite serious as he heard Red's words. He took a step forward and offered his hand to Red. "I would be glad to have a truce between my people and yours. I agree with ya, we should leave a better memory for today than senseless violence."

Red stared at the president's hand in slight confusion, until Shawn quietly told him about the human custom of shaking hands. Now understanding the gesture, Red and Purple both reached out and shook each of the president's hands. The crowd burst into wild cheers at the sight.

Shawn smiled at the sight of the three leaders and the sign of peace they were giving each other. He spun on his heel and started to walk off stage, but he was stopped by Tallest Purple grabbing him by the shoulder.

"Of course, none of this could've happened without this kid right here!"

"Right, right." Red agreed, "If it weren't for Shawn things would've been…a lot less smooth."

The president looked at Shawn with what could've been compared to pride. He snatched Shawn in a brief hug, and then shook the boy's hand profusely.

"Young man, what you've done today will be remembered for ages to come. I don't know how you did it, but you brought two different peoples together. Now that is truly what heroes do. I imagine your old man must be so proud of ya."

The Tallest nodded, and then each of them shook Shawn's hand as well. After all the hand shaking was done, Shawn turned and started walking off stage again. This time, however, he noticed the sound of the crowd cheering in the background. It stood out because they were chanting his name. Shawn felt his face go red as he finished walking offstage, and went to join his father and his friends. The Tallest and the president continued to talk about their truce as Shawn walked towards his friends.

When he arrived at the group, he was immediately covered in a giant group hug. Several different voices met his ears at once, with various comments. Dib was saying how he couldn't wait until the two of them reported this to the Eyeballs. They'd probably get a promotion of some sort! Scott said something about how he'd always thought Shawn would be the one out of the three of them to do something this big. Alison just kept saying she was proud of Shawn for doing whatever it was he exactly did. Taz, well, he just sort of jumped onto Shawn's head and hugged him like Shawn had just come home from war or something. Strangely, the robot's tiny metal arms felt surprisingly comfortable against Shawn's head.

One voice, however, caught Shawn's attention above all the others.

"I'm so glad you're safe, son."

Once the hug broke apart, Shawn and his father met eyes. The two Ryder's didn't say anything, neither being able to find the right words for the situation. Professor Ryder just stepped forward and hugged his son, feeling nothing but pride in Shawn's bravery. Eventually, the two of them broke their hug, and Professor Ryder again stood next to Professor Membrane. On the other hand, Shawn just noticed Krin watching him with a large smile on her face, and Shawn started walking over to her, when he was again interrupted by the Tallest.

"Sorry kid, but we're not done with you up here just yet!" Red called out.

Shawn's smile faded into a look of mild annoyance, but he returned to the stage anyway. Once he had made his way back onto the stairs, he waited for the Tallest to make their announcement. Red gave Shawn one last look over before addressing the president.

"Mr. president, I know I have no real right to request this of you, but I would like to ask that this boy act as the official ambassador of Earth to Irk."

"Well why not; the boy seems to be able to handle you guys alright. What do you say, kiddo?"

Shawn's response was almost instantaneous. "I agree, but on one condition." He turned and pointed at Dib. "Dib Membrane has to act as co-ambassador with me."

Dib's face lit up, and Shawn could see the excitement build up in Dib's body.

"Very well", Purple said, "The large-headed boy will also be an ambassador from Earth."

"Alright then", Shawn replied, cutting off Dib's shouts of protest about his head, "If that's all I guess I'll leave you three to the treaty writing and such."

Shawn hopped off the stage and jogged towards Dib. The two met in the middle with an epic high five to end all epic high fives, laughing and talking about what their first trip to Irk would be like. Then they noticed their dads walking towards them, and all conversation about space travel stopped. Ok, so maybe it would've been a good idea to consult with their respective fathers first before agreeing to be ambassadors to an alien planet, but really, could you blame them?

The two professors looked at their sons and let out a simultaneous sigh. Professor Membrane was the first of the two of them to speak.

"You'll both need some astronauts training." He said simply. Shawn and Dib looked at him dumbfounded, the too Professor Ryder, who nodded his head in silent agreement. The two boys again became overcome with glee, and resumed talking about what their adventures in space would be like.

While they were talking, Krin made her towards the two, discarding her crutches and walking with appropriate caution. Once she was next to the two of them, Dib took a hint and excused himself from the conversation. It was at this point that Shawn noticed that Krin's face was tinged a slightly darker green than normal; she was blushing.

He wondered why she'd be blushing, and then remembered what happened before he left for the Massive. He went a deep at the memory. It seemed like it had been a lifetime since she'd kissed him, but he knew it had only been around maybe two or three hours.

"So", Krin began slowly, scooting closer to Shawn, "I just wanted to say…"

Shawn, feeling rather confident, cut her off by pulling her into a kiss. Krin was surprised by the sudden contact, but it faded and she found herself kissing Shawn back, wrapping her arms around his neck. The kiss lasted a few seconds, and the two pulled apart when they felt the need to breathe return to each of them.

"Was that something along the lines of what you wanted to say?"

"…Actually I was going to say that you owe me a date, but I guess this works just as well."

The two laughed and pressed their foreheads together. Both of them either not caring or not noticing that the crowd was still there and still possibly watching them. Dib and Zim both made gagging noises at the sight.

"So Zim, now that it looks like the Irkens are turning over a new leaf, what do you think you'll do?"

"I'll figure something out. Maybe I'll stick around on this pathetic rock for a little while, it's not completely insufferable once you get used to it. If anything you should be worried about Tak, she's gonna have a full blown mental breakdown."

"Are you implying she hasn't already?"

The two boys laughed, and for once, just sort of enjoyed each other's company. Strange, now that they weren't at each other's throats, they seemed more like best friends than worst enemies. They were gonna keep cracking jokes with each other, but Professor Membrane called Dib over to him.

When Dib reached his dad, the professor started leading the boy away from the crowd. "Is something wrong dad?" Dib asked, his face turning concerned. The professor shook his head. "No, I just wanted to have a word with you." Silence hung over the two for a little bit longer until the professor finally spoke again.

"Son, I know that for almost your entire life I've ignored your beliefs. I never took anything you said seriously, simply because I never deemed it logical. I always spat in the face of everything you knew to be right, and for that I'm...sorry. I was w-w-wr….wrong." The word sounded so strange coming out of his mouth, but he knew it had to be said. "I was so caught up in my own discoveries that I'd forgotten that so many great men of science had been as ignored about their beliefs as you were. Many were as persecuted as you were. But you never deserved that, especially not from me. And today, you've proved everything you ever said was right, not just to the world, but to your old man too."

Dib was on the verge of tears. He'd dreamt about this moment, about finally hearing his dad tell him that he was right, but he'd never known if it would actually happen or not.

"And beyond that, you've opened the door for all your other para-scientific beliefs. This discovery has given significant credibility to everything else that you've brought up, and I promise you that I'll accept your beliefs with an open mind from now on."

Out of words, the professor finally just dropped to a knee and wrapped his arms around his son. Dib was surprised by the action, but the hug felt really good. It was like something else he'd been waiting for, even if he didn't know it.

"Dad…thank you."

The two stayed like that for a good deal of time before returning to join the others. The Tallest and the president were finishing their discussions, and the Tallest were on their way back to their ship. By some twist of fate, the Tallest locked eyes with Zim on their way to their ship. Freezing in place, the Tallest pointed at Zim with looks of sudden realization on their faces.

"Zim!" Purple exclaimed, "We almost forgot about you!"

"Yeah!" Red cried out, "Um, would you like to act as an, uh, emissary for the Irken race here on Earth? Of course, that'll mean you'll have to stay on Earth for a while longer but, I'm sure you'll get all kinds of respect back on Irk."

Zim's eyes welled up with pride. "My Tallest, I'd be honored!"

The Tallest wiped their brows in relief. "Great, we'll be in touch." And with that, the Tallest quickly entered their ship and started their liftoff into the sky. Within seconds they were headed back towards the Massive, and other ships were coming down to drop off Irkens to help repair whatever damage had been done.

"You think it'll be this easy for my people to settle their differences with the other species in the universe?" Krin asked as she and Shawn watched the ships slowly float down towards Earth.

"It'll take time." Shawn replied, "There's a lot of bad blood between the Irkens and all the other races out there, but I think that it's completely doable now that the Control Brain's gone."

"Speaking of which, what exactly happened with you on the Massive?"

"It's a long story." He gave her hand a light squeeze. "But maybe you'd like to hear it over a bite to eat?"

Krin smiled at him. "I'd love to."

The two started walking away from the stage hand in hand, until a certain robot leaped from nowhere onto Shawn's head.

"Where ya guys goin?" Taz asked curiously.

Shawn just sighed and shook his head, but the three kept walking. Zim watched them leave, and then felt his own SIR climb onto his head.

"GIR…"

"Master wants me to get off his head?"

"Ugh…no, you can stay. But just this one time." GIR squealed in joy. "Come one then, GIR, let's see if the Dib can find a way to get us all home."

As Zim went to rejoin Dib, the two professors stood side by side again as they observed the Irken ships landing.

"Lots of things are going to be changing." Professor Ryder observed, "Before we know it the boys will be headed off to who-knows-where on a diplomatic mission to another world, and we'll be here still splitting atoms."

Membrane nodded his head. "Ryder, did you ever imagine that our children would be surpassing us in importance at such young ages?"

"Never in my wildest dreams."

Despite themselves, the two men shared a laugh together and continued observing the Irkens as they now exited their ships and started to interact with the people nearby. Each race seemed cautious of the other, but it seemed like they could work together well enough. Zim had reunited with Dib, and seemed intent on the two of them heading home.

"Zim, just relax for two seconds, ok? We've just witnessed a major moment for both of our species. It would be a crime to not enjoy it."

"I suppose you have a point, Dib. Wait, we left Tak back there at that lab, under the supervision of two lab monkeys."

The boys exchanged worried looks, and then sprinted in the direction of the lab. They passed Shawn and Krin on their way, and the two seemed rather interested in why Dib and Zim looked so frantic.

"We left Tak at your dad's lab." Dib explained, not slowing down.

Shawn and Krin paused for a moment, and then took off after Dib and Zim, GIR and Taz right behind them. Despite the urgency of their rushing, the four couldn't help but turn their hurrying into a race, and before they knew it they had all doubled their paces, trying to be the first one to the lab. As the four laughed at each other, Shawn couldn't help but remember the choice he had been given on the Massive.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt this choice was the best option. He had finally truly done something worth being remembered for, and at the same he had forged three friendships that he felt would last a lifetime. He didn't care that he hadn't gained any superior power, because he knew that his actions would set in motion the freeing of countless other races, and that was a reward on its own.

That was what heroes did.

**Wow, longest chapter I've done by far, but I promised myself I'd finish the story for you guys with this chapter. It's weird to think that Crossed Fates is coming to a close now. I-I promised myself I wouldn't c-c-cry *starts to sob***

**Even though I've got a little epilogue tucked away for a little later, and the plans for a sequel are in the works, but that's still a while off.**

**So technically, the story is over, and I'm so very, truly thankful for all those who read this story and encouraged me with your kind words. You guys are what kept me going through all of this, and I could never show my true gratitude for you guys.**

**-watchmexplode33**


	17. Epilogue

Shawn stood in front of the Irken ship resting outside his house. He stood tall at twenty-six years old, and he was about to leave on a diplomatic trip to Irk. Dib would also be travelling, but he was taking his personal space craft.

"Daddy, are you sure I can't come with you?"

Shawn turned towards the voice and found a pair of royal purple eyes fixated on him. Zachary Ryder, only five years old, was almost the spitting image of his father. Dark brown hair formed a helmet shape atop his head. Pale skin held a slight lime shade, and two hands with three fingers each hung at the boys sides; both a testament to the Irken in his genes.

"Sorry, Zach, but I don't think the Irkens would like you tagging along this time. Maybe once you're older you can come."

A downcast look crossed Zach's face, but he cast his eyes skyward. "You promise?"

"I Promise."

"…Is the universe really as big as they say it is?"

"Bigger."

Zach's eyes widened. "One day I'm gonna fly out there and see everything that there is."

Shawn laughed lightly and ruffled his son's hair. "I'm sure you'll see more than everything there is to see." Shawn turned back around and started to head towards the waiting ship. He stopped at the entrance and faced Zach one more time. "Goodbye, son."

"Bye Daddy!" Zach shouted back, waving as the door to the ship slid closed. Slowly, the ship lifted off of the ground and ascended into the sky. Zach watched as the craft faded from view, becoming nothing but a small dot against the bright blue sky.

**As a note, I'm already working on the sequel, but don't expect it for a little while. Why? Having a broken arm sucks.**


End file.
